Enes Kanter Freedom Criticizes WNBA Over Sophie Cunningham Controversy

Enes Kanter Freedom has publicly defended Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham, asserting that the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) exhibits a double standard in its handling of Cunningham's controversial remarks about transgender athletes.

Freedom shared a New York Times tweet that linked to an Athletic article calling for the Indiana Fever to dismiss Cunningham if they wished to "go back to being a basketball team." In response, Freedom posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "A woman attacking another woman for standing up for women. All Sophie Cunningham said was that biological men should stay out of women’s sports and she answered honestly, something too many of her colleagues are too afraid to do."

He further drew parallels between Cunningham's stance and the activism of figures like Colin Kaepernick, Steph Curry, Steve Kerr, and LeBron James, who have spoken out on political issues. Freedom argued that Cunningham exercised her First Amendment rights and now faces potential repercussions from the WNBA, which he characterized as a clear double standard.

In July, Cunningham stated in an interview with ESPN that she believes the WNBA should not permit transgender athletes to compete in the league, despite the absence of any openly transgender players in the WNBA at the time. She expressed a desire "to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men." Cunningham reiterated her position shortly after, maintaining that she held no animosity towards transgender individuals.

Following her comments, Cunningham received mixed reactions, including boos from fans of the Portland Fire. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith supported Cunningham's view, stating that a transgender female competing in the WNBA would be "clearly unfair to women."

In an effort to further address the issue, Freedom reportedly submitted a document in August requesting the WNBA to acknowledge his "decision to enter the player pool for the 2027 WNBA Draft" as a transgender player.