The former NBA player who hates trans people causes an unexpected storm

BarcelonaEnes Kanter Freedom, the controversial former NBA player who caused an unexpected storm by declaring himself eligible for the draft of the WNBA, continues to fan the flames. The Turk has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Sky and the owners of the Wintrust Arena, who threw him out of the arena for causing a disturbance.

Kanter, who has become a transphobic activist, attended the game wearing a t-shirt that read the definition of a woman: “Adult human female”. This caused Natasha Cloud, one of the players in the game, to challenge him from the court. Other players also protested against Kanter, who was ejected from the venue.

The Turk is not the only man mocking trans athletes. Royce White, who only played three games in the NBA, also claims his right to compete in the WNBA. "I am transgender. I identify as a woman for the purposes of professional basketball," he asserted. Although no transsexual athlete has ever participated in the WNBA, the North American competition will carefully study its access regulations to evaluate possible changes.

The controversy began a few weeks ago with statements from Sophie Cunningham, known as the MAGA Barbie for her ultra-conservative ideas. “I want to protect young girls in the locker rooms and in the world of sports. They shouldn't have to face biological men,” said the Indiana Fever player. Her popularity on social media has grown significantly thanks to some violent actions on the court. “I've received a lot of criticism for supposedly hating trans people. I've never said anything like that. I am here to spread love, but I also believe that with that love comes truth, honesty. I said what I said, I think it's common sense, and I will always believe in it. It is very important to protect children, and that includes little girls,” added Cunningham.

The WNBA, which was created in 1986, has never had a trans player born male, but the debate affects it head-on. After Donald Trump issued an executive order that seeks to ban the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports, the United States Supreme Court supported the legislation of several states that prohibit their participation. According to calculations by Charlie Baker, president of the NCAA, of the 530,000 university athletes who compete, only 10 are trans.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its new policy for the protection of the female category in Olympic sport, under which only "biological women" will be able to compete, a rule that will be applied starting from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Cisgender women who want to be at the Games, therefore, will have to undergo a test at least once during their career. At the last Paris Olympic Games, there was much debate about the case of boxers Imane Khelif (Algerian, who won gold) and Lin Yu-ting (Taiwanese), who were accused by some rivals and by the International Boxing Association of having male chromosomes, despite the fact that both had competed all their lives as women without any kind of problem and had passed all kinds of tests, including in the previous Tokyo Games.

"We strongly denounce these bad-faith efforts that use these issues to degrade and marginalize others," state the WNBA, which has monitored the increase in hate speech and insults directed at its players. "We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. These are the values that unite our union and allow us to protect women's sports while creating transformative change. Hate, abuse, and the demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have conversations, but we will not be political pawns," the players say through their association.