By The Daily Wire (World News) | Created at 2026-08-08 17:50:52 | Updated at 2026-08-08 19:19:22
6 hours ago
Former NBA first-round pick Royce White said Friday he intends to enter the 2027 WNBA draft, telling OutKick he now identifies as a woman “for purposes of basketball” and would take the league to court if no team signs him.
White, 35, made the announcement hours after fellow ex-NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom declared himself a 2027 prospect, saying he had reviewed the league’s self-identification framework and met its requirements. White had teed up his own version days earlier, writing on X on Tuesday that he now identifies as “a sometimes identifying transgender woman” and would pursue a WNBA career.
As I stated a few days ago, I am declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
I identify as a sometimes identifying transgender woman! My wig is in the mail. pic.twitter.com/lPVsmcMOVD
— Royce White 🇺🇸 (@Highway_30) August 7, 2026
The 6-foot-8, roughly 260-pound forward — the Houston Rockets’ 16th overall pick in 2012 — predicted that he would be “unstoppable,” and said players would “have nightmares” guarding him, and confirmed he would use the women’s locker room if rostered. If he goes undrafted, he told OutKick, “I have to file a discrimination lawsuit, right?”
White framed the stunt as a challenge to the league to define its own rules. The WNBA’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement states that only women are eligible to play, but the 409-page document does not define the term or address transgender eligibility, and the league has not said how it would evaluate either man’s declaration. The issue has been a major controversy in the WNBA in recent weeks after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke up in defense of protecting women’s sports.
The players’ union responded Friday without answering the eligibility question, saying it embraces “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion” and would not be used as “political pawns.”
White, who lost to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) as the GOP nominee in 2024, appears on the ballot in Minnesota’s August 11 Republican Senate primary. He said his preferred landing spot would be the hometown Minnesota Lynx, whose head coach, Cheryl Reeve, recently wore a “trans kids belong” shirt during a game.
