Royce White exploring legal avenues after WNBA tells Congress he is ineligible to play

Former NBA player Royce White says he plans to explore legal avenues against the WNBA after Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told Congress that he and Enes Kanter Freedom are ineligible to play because they are men.

White told OutKick that Engelbert’s response does not resolve his challenge to the league’s eligibility standards, calling on the WNBA to explain how it defines men and women.

"We plan to explore every legal avenue possible to hold the WNBA and NBA community to their stated standards and values," White said.

FORMER NBA PLAYER ROYCE WHITE SAYS HE IS DECLARING FOR NEXT WNBA DRAFT AFTER ENES KANTER ANNOUNCEMENT Asked whether Engelbert’s letter had officially triggered a previously discussed discrimination lawsuit, White said he could not discuss particulars.

He did not announce a filing or provide a timetable for taking legal action.

The dispute centers on White’s and Freedom’s efforts to enter the 2027 WNBA draft after declaring that they identify as women.

During the interview, White agreed when asked whether his declaration was "for basketball purposes." In an Oct.

16 letter responding to Republican lawmakers, Engelbert stated the league’s position directly.

"With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men," Engelbert wrote.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.

DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW! The response followed a Sept.

17 inquiry from Rep.

Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and four Republican colleagues asking how the WNBA defines "women" under its collective bargaining agreement and why White and Freedom had been deemed ineligible.

The lawmakers requested answers by Oct.