Former ESPN star Jemele Hill has weighed in on two former NBA players declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
In the wake of Sophie Cunningham's comments on transgender athletes sparking a debate within the WNBA, two former NBA players - Enes Kanter and Royce White - have declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
"If simply declaring who you are is all that's required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA. My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA's eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027," Kanter announced.
White added: "I'm transgender. I'm a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I'll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well. I think I'd be unstoppable. But I'm a team-first guy. I'm a pass-first kind of player. I do the little things. I led my team in all five major stat categories at Iowa State University, so I do a little bit of everything. I'll do whatever the coach needs me to do. I'll do whatever the girls need me to do...I think it's only fair."
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Kanter and White's decisions have sparked a lot of conversation surrounding transgender athletes in the WNBA.
NBA champion Kyle Kuzma spoke out.
"Thirty years of women fighting to get this league built, and the question on the table this week is what a woman is. Needing a committee to find that answer is a disservice to every girl who was told this league was for her," he wrote.
Jemele Hill, though, is making fun of Kanter and White
Hill doesn't think Kanter and White really know what they are doing.
"Royce White and Enes Kanter declaring for the WNBA draft reminds me of that episode of The Office where Michael Scott shouted I declare bankruptcy in the middle of the office because he thought that’s what the phrase meant," she wrote.
It's true - just because Kanter and White announced that they had "declared" for the 2027 WNBA Draft on social media, it doesn't mean anything is actually going to happen.
