Retired basketball player Royce White says he is coming out as transgender in a bid to compete in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
“I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of basketball,” Mr. White, 35, told Fox News in an interview published Friday. “So I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027.”
He first stated he was “now transgender” and seeking to play in the WNBA in a Tuesday social media post.
Mr. White, who stands at 6 feet 8 inches, was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2012.
The stunt is an attempt to satirize transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but does not provide a definition of a woman.
“I think I’d be unstoppable,” said Mr. White.
Mr. White was the Republican nominee for Senate in 2024, losing to incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat. In 2026, he is again seeking the Republican nomination to fill the vacant seat of Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who is not seeking reelection.
“I don’t want to be discriminated against,” he said. “I’m a young, Black, hopefully United States senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying-as-a-transgender woman athlete.”
Enes Kanter Freedom, a retired basketball player who last played center for the Boston Celtics, also declared his eligibility on Friday.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” said Mr. Freedom in his announcement. “I am simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone.”
Mr. White says they came up with the idea independently.
“Great minds think alike,” he said.
The debate over transgender athletes has been reignited after Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever told ESPN, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association, the union for the league’s athletes, released a statement on Friday to address the controversy.
“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm,” the statement read. “We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
There are no transgender players currently in the WNBA. However, Layshia Clarendon, now retired, identified as transgender and nonbinary and underwent chest surgery.
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