The WNBA has not announced any plans to prevent Enes Kanter Freedom from attending future games after he was ejected from Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Sunday, but multiple sources told ESPN that the former NBA player will not be eligible to play in the women's league.
Sources around the league said Kanter Freedom and fellow former NBA player Royce White are not eligible to play in the WNBA after the pair declared themselves women and eligible for the draft.
Kanter Freedom was removed from the building Sunday after a verbal altercation with Chicago Sky point guard Natasha Cloud.
Kanter Freedom was sitting courtside in a black T-shirt that read: "WOMAN noun. adult human female." When a timeout was called late in the third quarter, Cloud walked toward Kanter Freedom and shouted at him. He was standing with his arms outstretched and took a few steps toward the court before security cut him off and directed him to leave.
One source said Kanter Freedom had been making comments toward Cloud throughout the game, though a fan wearing a gold Caitlin Clark Fever shirt sitting near Kanter said he only cheered during the game.
"I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!" Kanter Freedom wrote on social media Sunday night. "Let that sink in, AMERICA!"
After an 11-year career in the NBA, Kanter Freedom has inserted himself in the political realm in recent years and has been vocal in the national debate sparked by Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's comments regarding transgender athletes.
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement signed in March states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." There is no further definition of a woman, and the WNBA has no publicly available policy governing eligibility of transgender or intersex athletes. No known transgender woman has played in the WNBA.
Sources noted that there are currently no instances that require the league to review eligibility distinction and that it will continue to research and review the topic. There are no expectations of any rule alterations in the near future.