Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom is building a coalition of the willing in his bid to join the WNBA.
Freedom wrote on X Tuesday that multiple professional basketball players have proposed to join his cause. Two other former first-round draft picks have already officially committed to the effort.
Freedom's campaign puts a spotlight on a controversy around transgender athletes in women's sports, which was brought to light by comments made by the Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham.
The G-League (short for Gatorade, who sponsors it) is the NBA's official development league and farm system.
"Hear me out; The @NBA G- League pays players $45,000 a year, while the #WNBA top players earn $1.4 Million," Freedom added. "Those 'men' could earn an extra $1,355,000 a year by just identifying as women. Rules are rules."
Kanter did not specify which former NBA players, but two have publicly announced their intention to declare for the WNBA Draft in April.
"I’m now transgender," White wrote on X. "I’m going to pursue a career in the WNBA… I identify as a sometimes identifying trans woman. I wish to be treated fairly and don’t want to be discriminated against. This is a serious pursuit. I realize after 35 years, I’m actually a woman."
White was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012. He spent his rookie season with their G League (then known as the D-League or Development League) affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. But that was only on paper: White suffers from a severe anxiety disorder and a fear of flying, which caused serious issues with the team. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013, then waived and signed by the Sacramento Kings and assigned to their D-League team, the Reno Bighorns. He was also briefly called up to the Kings and played in three games.
In 2016, he signed with the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada: he won two league championships with the Lightning; he was named league MVP in the 2017 season, and led the league in scoring in 2018. He was cut after the 2018 season. He also played in the Big3 3-on-3 league in 2019 and 2021.
Since leaving basketball, White has become a perennial political candidate in his home state of Minnesota. He ran for the Republican nomination for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in 2022, losing in the primary. He won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2024, but lost to Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar by nearly 16 points. He ran for Senate again in 2026 but came in third place: former NBC Sports sideline commentator Michele Tafoya won the nomination.
"I understand the rules to get in are somewhat controversial, but I'm gonna take advantage of those rules," he said. "While I'm playing, [I] will be a woman...I feel like, given the recent news of who's gonna be entering into the WNBA, somebody's gotta stop [this] dude. I mean, somebody's gotta get her. So I'm gonna be the 'her' that get her. I'm her, when I'm playing basketball in the WNBA."
The "her" he mentions is Julie Tétart, a French women's basketball player—who is a biological male—who said publicly that he would be open to joining the WNBA.
Sanders spent five seasons in the Bucks organization, and with their D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and their affiliate, the Canton Charge, in the 2016-17 season. He also played in Big3 in 2019.
"After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect," he wrote. "If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA. My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027."
"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" she told the outlet. "I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."