Enes Kanter Freedom praises Valkyries after WNBA title and criticizes league leadership
Enes Kanter Freedom praised the Golden State Valkyries and WNBA Finals players after their Game 7 championship win over the Atlanta Dream while criticizing league leadership and reiterating his push to enter the 2027 draft.
Enes Kanter Freedom praised the players of the WNBA Finals after the Golden State Valkyries won their first championship in just their second season, but he also took aim at the league's leadership and renewed his push to enter the 2027 draft. The former NBA center made the remarks in a statement following Saturday's Game 7, in which Golden State defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 30 points in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. Freedom said he was proud of the players, describing them as hardworking and talented women who had dedicated their lives to basketball and deserved recognition, respect and support. He added that he wished the league had better leadership, arguing that the conversation should focus on the players' performances on the court rather than controversies off it. He expressed hope that the league could have peace next year and let basketball be the focus again. He closed by saying he would see the players at the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Freedom announced his draft bid in August, saying he identifies as a woman and arguing that the league's eligibility language allowed him to compete. The WNBA has deemed him ineligible. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert reiterated that position in an October 16 response to Republican lawmakers who had pressed the league to explain its eligibility standards, writing that « only women are eligible to play in the WNBA » and identifying Freedom as a man. The exchange followed a September inquiry led by Representative Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., which asked, among other things, for the league's definition of « women ». Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the WNBA's 2026 collective bargaining agreement states that only players who are women are eligible to play in the league. The agreement does not set out a separate eligibility policy for transgender women. Freedom has said he would end his campaign if the league explicitly restricted eligibility to biological women.
The dispute also touches the player who led Golden State to the title. Williams voiced support for transgender athletes earlier this year, saying in May that she would welcome a trans athlete on her team or against her team at any time. Freedom later cited her comments as the inspiration for his draft announcement. The Associated Press reported in October that no transgender woman had played in the WNBA.
Freedom's campaign also led to a confrontation with arena officials during the Finals. He left State Farm Arena in Atlanta on October 21 after disputing a requirement that he watch Game 3 from a private luxury suite instead of his purchased seat. Video showed officials telling him he would have to agree to go to the suite to enter. The arena said the arrangement followed Freedom's outreach to authorities, the WNBA, the Dream and arena officials about concerns for his personal safety, and that the suite would have additional security and state police had assigned him an officer at his request. Freedom insisted he wanted to sit in the seat he had purchased, and an arena representative said he rejected the suite offered for his safety.
Earlier in the season, the Chicago Sky banned Freedom from home games after his August 23 confrontation with guard Natasha Cloud. Sky owner Michael Alter defended the decision on safety grounds, saying Freedom had made himself a threat by stepping toward Cloud during the exchange.
Freedom's latest criticism comes as league leadership is already changing. Engelbert announced in September that she will retire at the end of 2026 after more than seven years as commissioner. Freedom's statement indicates he intends to keep pressing the issue as the league prepares for a new commissioner and the 2027 season.
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