In early August, former National Basketball Association (NBA) players Enes Kanter and Royce White declared themselves eligible for the 2027 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Draft, claiming that they identify as women and should therefore be allowed to play in the league.
Kanter and White, who both played in the NBA as men, appear to be deliberately “ragebaiting” the WNBA and challenging the league’s ongoing debate over transgender athletes. The issue has divided athletes and fans alike, with some WNBA players expressing support for allowing transgender athletes to compete and others arguing against it. Kanter and White are targeting those who support inclusion, posing a provocative question: If athletes should be allowed to compete based on their gender identity, then why shouldn’t they be allowed to play if they identify as women?
Kanter and White are relying on the fact that the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states only that players must be women. Because they claim to be women, they argue that the league has no grounds to prevent them from participating. While their motion is plainly ridiculous and appears to be a publicity stunt intended to mock the WNBA, it has nonetheless brought a controversial issue into the spotlight: Should transgender athletes be allowed to compete in the sports divisions that align with their gender identity?
Recent comments on the issue from Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham sparked debate among athletes and fans worldwide. In an interview with ESPN, Cunningham said she does not believe transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
“I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham said.
Her comments quickly ignited debate throughout the WNBA community. While some fans voiced their support for Cunningham’s position, others criticized her stance, booing her during games and expressing their opposition across social media.
The debate over transgender athletes is not simply a question of identity—it is also a question of physiology. Transgender women who undergo gender-affirming hormone therapy typically experience significant reductions in testosterone, as well as decreases in lean muscle mass and, in some studies, strength. However, research suggests that hormone therapy does not necessarily erase all of the physical differences established during male puberty. Differences in height, bone structure, muscle mass and strength can persist even after testosterone suppression. One review of existing research found that transgender women lost approximately 5% of their lean muscle mass after 12 months of hormone therapy, while the baseline difference in muscle mass between males and females can be substantially larger.
Hormone therapy can therefore narrow the physical gap between transgender women and female athletes without necessarily eliminating it. Some characteristics developed during male puberty, such as skeletal size and greater muscle mass, may persist after testosterone levels are reduced. In a sport like basketball, where height, strength, explosiveness and physicality are critical, this raises a legitimate question about whether testosterone suppression alone is enough to create a level playing field.
While this is an important and increasingly controversial debate, it is worth considering how many athletes are actually affected by these policies. Transgender athletes make up a tiny fraction of all collegiate athletes in the United States. In 2024, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified that he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes competing among approximately 510,000 NCAA athletes nationwide.
However, that number does not necessarily represent the total number of transgender people who participate in sports. Transgender athletes may be less likely to compete at the collegiate level because of the growing number of restrictions surrounding transgender participation in sports. A 2025 estimate from the Williams Institute found that approximately 2.8 million Americans ages 13 and older identify as transgender, including about 2.1 million adults and 724,000 youth. While there is no reliable data showing how many of those individuals are athletes, it is reasonable to conclude that the fewer than 10 transgender NCAA athletes Baker cited represent only a fraction of transgender people who participate in organized sports.
The debate itself is a sensitive and complicated one. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in sports regardless of their gender identity, but the question becomes more complicated when competition and fairness enter the conversation. Competition exists at every level of sport, and as athletes advance to higher levels, the importance of maintaining a fair and competitive playing field becomes increasingly significant.
The inclusion of transgender athletes introduces a relatively new challenge to that playing field—one that sports organizations, scientists and governing bodies are still working to understand. There is no simple answer that satisfies everyone, and until there is greater consensus about how to balance inclusion with competitive fairness, the debate over transgender participation in sports is likely to continue.
As for Kanter and White, their publicity stunt was ultimately shut down, with both reportedly deemed ineligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft. The biggest problem with their argument is not simply that they identify as women, but the apparent intent behind their declarations.
While the stunt was certainly disruptive, it also brought a complicated and long-running issue back to the dinner table: Where should sports draw the line between inclusion and competitive fairness? It is a question that has no easy answer and is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.