Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, AP source says

Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are ineligible for the WNBA draft, according to an anonymous source. The reasons for their ineligibility have not been disclosed. Both Freedom and White had declared their intention to participate in next year's draft. The WNBA has yet to comment publicly on their eligibility.

Recent discussions surrounding the league involve the inclusion of transgender women, people who were assigned male at birth but identify as women. No WNBA player has ever been transgender. The collective bargaining agreement of the WNBA specifies that the league is limited to women, but does not provide further details regarding gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

Freedom and White, who both self-identify as women, entered their intention to join the draft after the league's announcement. Freedom, who stands at 6-foot-10 and weighs 250 pounds, played 11 seasons in the NBA. White made three appearances in NBA games. Freedom was removed from a recent game against the Indiana Fever after confronting guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.

Cloud, who is 34 years old, was seen yelling and gesturing towards Freedom as she approached him. Security and several Sky players intervened to escort Freedom from the court area. Freedom later tweeted about the incident, stating that he had been ejected for supporting women, and called for America to reflect on the matter. The Fever's guard, Sophie Cunningham, expressed opposition to transgender girls and women competing in girls' and women's sports, resulting in increased debates within the league regarding transgender participation. Freedom joined a small rally supporting Cunningham outside the arena prior to the game.