Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom has doubled down on his campaign to join the WNBA and revealed plans to pair with Caitlin Clark on the Indiana Fever. The 6-foot-10 veteran, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, announced his intent to declare for the draft earlier this month amid the ongoing debate surrounding transgender athlete involvement in sports.
Freedom revealed his dream of joining the Fever during a town hall style interview for the America First Policy Institute shared on Friday, sitting down with former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Wearing an orange hoodie that read 'Let Freedom Play', the former hoops star heavily hinted at his goal of playing alongside Clark in Indiana.
Indiana Fever Partnership Claim
During the interview, Pearl scoffed at the claim and questioned whether Freedom would even make the Fever roster, which features Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Sophie Cunningham. Freedom brushed off the dig from Pearl and declared that he and Clark could be the modern day Kobe and Shaq, referencing Lakers legends Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
"Think about this… We're going down the lane, Caitlin throws me a lob and I cut the lob and dunk the ball," Freedom said. "Then me and Caitlin bump chests… which I'm allowed to do now, because I'm a woman."
Freedom also took a provocative jab at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert by claiming the league is still trying to figure out what a woman is. "They're actually having a meeting this week," Freedom said. "It's been around for 30 years. So think about how disrespectful that statement to all the players that have played in the league, in their history."
Freedom insisted that his intention was not to mock the league and urged fans to take his message seriously. "What my campaign stands for is different than what any other player is doing," Freedom insisted. "I have said before, I'm not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any group or personal decisions."
"What I'm doing is bigger than getting clicks and attention," Freedom added. "I don't want this whole thing to turn into a laughing stock. I want people to take our message seriously."
Official WNBA Draft Application
The former Knicks and Celtics star stated last week that he reviewed the current eligibility guidelines before moving forward with his decision. On Monday afternoon, Freedom updated his followers by sharing a letter he allegedly sent to Engelbert regarding his entry into the 2027 draft pool.
The letter read: "Please accept this formal document as my official written notification to the Women's National Basketball Association of my voluntary decision to enter the player pool for the 2027 WNBA Draft. Consistent with the current league collective bargaining agreement, I am submitting this notice to exercise my draft rights and to affirm that I am at least twenty-two years old and that I have no remaining intercollegiate eligibility, as required by Article XIII, Section 1(b)."
"I request that the WNBA League Office verify receipt of this document and direct any future communications to my personal email address listed above," the letter continued. "Thank you for your official processing of my registration into the 2027 draft pool. Respectfully submitted this 6 day of August 2026."
In an accompanying video, Freedom said: "It's officially official. I just declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft in April. Join me in this journey." Freedom also claimed in the video that he meets every single requirement to compete in the WNBA.
Transgender Athlete Policy Debate
The WNBA has been engulfed by controversy over transgender athletes in recent weeks after Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham said she wants to protect young girls from biological men. Freedom is not the only former NBA player to announce plans to enter the women's league.
Royce White, a 35-year-old former NBA player who played three games for the Sacramento Kings, told Fox News Digital that he is now transgender and wants to join Clark and Cunningham on the court next season. White later doubled down by posting a picture of himself wearing a wig on social media to celebrate his feminine era, becoming the second former NBA player to declare for the draft.
WNBA general managers and presidents met on Wednesday as part of an anti-hate task force to discuss athlete eligibility amid the debate. Following the meeting, the league announced that there were no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA at this time, determining that no changes would be made to its eligibility criteria.
