WNBA TELLS LAWMAKERS KANTER FREEDOM AND WHITE ARE MEN

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert answered questions from US lawmakers about whether Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White could play in the league. Engelbert wrote that “only women are eligible to play in the WNBA, and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men”. Her reply addressed eligibility under Article XIII, Section 1(a), of the WNBA collective bargaining agreement. Kanter Freedom said the answer left the definition of a woman unresolved.

Marlin Stutzman, Erin Houchin, Sheri Biggs, John Rose and Zach Nunn, all Republican members of the US House of Representatives, sent the inquiry on 17 September. Their questions also covered player safety and hostile interactions with fans. They asked the WNBA to clarify what the agreement means by “woman”. Stutzman called Engelbert’s reply “the first step in defining what a woman is for the sports community”.

Stutzman said the reply showed that identifying as a woman does not change what he called “basic human biology”. Kanter Freedom said he had researched changing a birth certificate from male to female in New York. He claimed the change could take less than a day and said he could make it if the WNBA required it. Kanter Freedom also called Engelbert’s response disrespectful and asked who gets to decide eligibility.