{"id":76137,"date":"2026-08-11T10:41:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=76137"},"modified":"2026-08-11T10:41:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:41:50","slug":"royce-white-second-ex-nba-player-declares-for-2027-wnba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=76137","title":{"rendered":"<h2>Royce White: Second ex-NBA player declares for 2027 WNBA draft<\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><iframe id=\"nxs-video-iframe-11\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16\/9; \" src=\"https:\/\/redir1.newsnationnow.com\/nxs-video\/vid-anvato-12032759\/embed\/?autoplay=1&#038;injected_via=embed&#038;post_id=3996676\" rel=\"nofollow\" width=\"640\" height=\"320\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NewsNation<\/a>) \u2014 A second former NBA first-round pick says he plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, following a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/enes-kanter-freedom-wnba-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">similar announcement from Enes Kanter Freedom<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Josie Fischels | NEWNSATION<br \/>\nUpdated: Aug 10, 2026 \/ 09:41 AM CDT<\/p>\n<p>Royce White, who is now a Republican candidate in Minnesota\u2019s Aug. 11 Senate primary, told\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/former-nba-player-royce-white-declaring-next-wnba-draft-enes-kanter-announcement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox News<\/a>\u00a0he\u2019s transgender and identifies as a woman \u201csometimes \u2026 for purpose of basketball, professional basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White said he\u2019d only reconsider if the WNBA issues a \u201cdefinitive statement\u201d on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019d be unstoppable,\u201d White said. \u201cI\u2019ll do whatever the coach needs me to do. I\u2019ll do whatever the girls need me to do \u2026 I think it\u2019s only fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Royce White\u2019s WNBA take comes amid transgender inclusion debate<\/h2>\n<p>The WBNA is facing an ongoing debate over\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/caitlin-clark-sophie-cunningham-transgender-athlete\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trans athletes in women\u2019s sports<\/a>, sparked by Indiana Fever guard\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/debate-over-sophie-cunningham-comment-wnba-arena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sophie Cunningham\u2019s comments to ESPN<\/a>\u00a0opposing their participation.<\/p>\n<p>WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams Friday addressing ongoing discussions around trans athletes in women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr1_ab-mr1_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr1_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:false,&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;refresh_on_resize&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:[300,250],&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;amp_multi_size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:false,&quot;wx_targeting&quot;:[],&quot;module_refreshable&quot;:false}\" data-unit=\"{&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;mr-ab&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;tag_id&quot;:&quot;mr1_ab&quot;,&quot;publisher_id&quot;:&quot;\\\/5678\\\/nx.newsnation&quot;,&quot;position&quot;:&quot;mr1_ab&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_lazy_load&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_ad_refresh&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;use_max_height&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;suppression_plan&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;ad_disabled&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr1_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;aa&quot;:&quot;f&quot;,&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;second-ex-nba-player-declares-2027-wnba-draft-trans&quot;,&quot;hlmeta&quot;:&quot;second ex nba player declares 2027 wnba draft trans&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;pagetype&quot;:&quot;story&quot;,&quot;pers_cid&quot;:&quot;nxs-108-article-3996676&quot;,&quot;pgid&quot;:&quot;3996676&quot;}\" data-path=\"\/5678\/nx.newsnation\/u_s_\/sports\" data-ad-element=\"true\" data-register-event=\"nsDfpSlotRendered\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2997588\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=1280,720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=512,288 512w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=876,492 876w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/108\/2024\/08\/WhiteRoyce.jpg?resize=50,28 50w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Royce White, a former NBA pick and now Republican candidate in Minnesota\u2019s Aug. 11 Senate primary, told Fox News he\u2019s transgender and identifies as a woman \u201csometimes\u2026 for purpose of basketball, professional basketball.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women\u2019s basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,\u201d Engelbert wrote in the memo\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/sports-headlines\/ap-wnba-commissioner-says-league-will-continue-discussing-issue-of-transgender-participation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">obtained by The Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cI wanted to reach out to share how we are approaching these conversations at the league office and to thank those of you who have responded to questions from the media with thoughtfulness and professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"nlp-ignore-block article-content rich-text\">\n<aside class=\"promo-link\"><a class=\"promo-link__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/crime\/keffe-d-memoir-tupac-murder-trial\/?ipid=promo-link-block2\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\">How a memoir helped bring Tupac Shakur\u2019s alleged killer to trial\u00a0<\/a><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kanter Freedom announced his own WNBA Draft plans in a video posted to X, saying he\u2019s \u201cnot here to mock\u201d anyone, but wants eligibility rules \u201capplied equally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The WNBA\u2019s collective bargaining agreement currently limits the league to women, and no trans or male player has played in it.<\/p>\n<p>____<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/second-ex-nba-player-declares-2027-wnba-draft-trans\/\">https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/sports\/second-ex-nba-player-declares-2027-wnba-draft-trans\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76138,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76137\/revisions\/76138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}