NBA journeyman Enes Freedom has become something of a Fox News regular in recent weeks. Born Enes Kanter, Freedom changed his surname to protest the government of his birth nation of Turkey. However, Freedom doesn't believe that certain other people should be afforded that same right. He was on Fox News this week to fearmonger about trans athletes.
"I'm 7-foot, 270 pounds," he said. "And, if I decided to identify myself as a woman and decided to play in the WNBA. Would that be fair to all the women who have been chasing their dreams since they were a little kid? "If I am allowed in, I will average 60 points and 30 rebounds. I will break records. Men do not belong in women's spaces," he said. "Restrooms, locker rooms or sports. Everybody knows we are bigger, stronger, taller, more muscular," he added. "It's just not fair. It's just not fair, period." Kanter later posted trolling images with a similar message on social media.
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What Enes Freedom (And Right Wing Media) Gets Wrong About Trans Athletes
Firstly, it's very telling that Freedom, a career 11.2/7.8 player, believes that his stats would nearly sextuple in ppg and more than triple in rpg if he joined the WNBA. It's a very common idea that the WNBA's quality is so bad that even mediocre players, like Freedom, would be unto gods in the league. Of course, it's wrong. The WNBA is the best women's league in the world. Furthermore, comparing the WNBA and NBA is folly because who would do that in a serious context? Additionally, it's interesting that Freedom chooses to bash a women's league by talking about how utterly dominant he would be as a way of explaining why it needs to be "defended". It's a common trope found in right-wing media, exaggerating feminity fragile to make trans women seem like monsters.
Additionally, the ignorance on display in Freedom's comments is staggering, if unsurprisingly for a right-wing commentator. Due to the exact scenario that Freedom is described, you cannot simply declare yourself a woman and demand to play in the WNBA. The WNBA implemented a gender policy in 2016, requiring hormone testing and legally-binding medical testimony from certified professionals. This is very similar to pretty much every other level of professional sport, which has similar regulations. Lia Thomas, the right's go-to trans villain in the sports world, sat out for a year to ensure compliance with the NCAA's own policy. Once again, the right is trying to fearmonger about trans athletes without the slightest clue what they are talking about. For the record, there are currently zero trans women playing in the WNBA.
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