As Enes Kanter Freedom continues to challenge the eligibility rules of the WNBA, someone else may be tempted to do the same.
Caitlyn Jenner, who Freedom has mentioned in his “peace summit” idea to talk with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA task force about the eligibility controversy, mentioned on “Planet Tyrus” that she has spoken with Freedom on multiple occasions.
During one of them, Jenner admitted she, as a “real trans person,” told Freedom she might even consider entering the WNBA draft.
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“Enes and I have talked on the phone quite a few times, and I even told him one time — this is a couple of weeks ago — ‘Enes, I’m like a real trans person. Maybe I should sign up for the 2027 WNBA draft,’” Jenner told Tyrus.
Jenner went on to mention that, back in the 1970s while becoming an American athletic icon as Bruce Jenner following a record-breaking decathlon gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, she was drafted by the then-Kansas City Kings in the NBA.
These are the same Kings which now play in Sacramento following an original stint in Kansas City from 1972-85. While Jenner played basketball growing up, it was the decathlon she gave her undivided attention.
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Still, the basketball skill is there, and Jenner is one of the most well-known trans persons in the country. Would the WNBA step in if the 76-year-old entered the draft?
“All the WNBA had to say was, ‘You can’t play in our league because you are a man. This is a woman’s league.’ That’s it, it’s over. News cycle’s done,” Tyrus said earlier in their hour-long conversation.
“Maybe they don’t want the news cycle being done,” Jenner responded. “Yes, that’s a good point.”
“Well, look at Sophie Cunningham and what happened with her — the WNBA has never got so much press.”
Late last month, Freedom posted a video on X following his ejection from Wintrust Arena after a spat with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud in a game where they played Cunningham and the Indiana Fever. Freedom was speaking directly to Engelbert and the WNBA task force in his video, where he mentioned Jenner could moderate the “peace summit.”
“I’ve already spoken with her, and she’s in,” Freedom wrote on X. “…Listen, the whole world is laughing at you. You have turned the #WNBA into a laughingstock. It’s time to stop hiding behind closed-door meetings, excuses, and delays and finally give the public a clear answer. Let’s have a peace summit. No shouting. No hiding. No carefully scripted statements.
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“Let’s sit across the table from each other, have an open and respectful conversation, and address the questions millions of people are asking.”
Engelbert and the league have not responded to Freedom, whom referenced the WNBA task force that came to no decision of what justified a woman while deliberating over eligibility concerns in a recent meeting.
Jenner has long been an advocate for keeping biological men out of women’s sports. She has even given her “simple” solution to end the WNBA’s trans athlete debate amid Freedom and Royce White’s endeavors.
“They’re showing the hypocrisy of what’s going on out there in the WNBA,” Jenner said of Kanter and White on “Fox News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher . “The WNBA had their meetings on this issue and Cathy (Engelbert), the head, says, ‘We talked about the trans issue but we just haven’t come up with a conclusion at this point. We will continue the conversation.’ Cathy, XX, you’re in. XY you’re out. It’s that simple.
“And both these guys I think are doing a good job just to show the WNBA the hypocrisy that’s going on here. We have to protect women’s sports … I want to protect women’s sports. Title IX was one of the greatest legislations for women’s equality – that happened to be in sports.”
