Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire
Enes Kanter has made himself a main character in the WNBA culture wars
Enes Kanter, having been out of the NBA since 2022, has found a way to make himself relevant again by making himself a main character in the transgender athlete section of the culture wars. Kanter has attempted to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft and was ejected from a league game on Sunday due to a confrontation with Chicago Sky point guard Natasha Cloud.
While Enes Kanter has been leaning into political discourse for a few years now, the former NBA center’s latest WNBA gambit is by far his most explicit pivot into the culture wars, as evidenced by his recent appearances on Fox News and perpetuation of conservative talking points regarding the transgender community.
It’s halftime and I need to use the restroom…🚺
Rules are rules @WNBA 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/4MoAEzKmys
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 24, 2026
Video of Enes Kanter chanting “I can’t breathe” at a Black Lives Matter protest has resurfaced amid his role in the transgender athletes discourse
Amid Kanter’s pivot into right-wing politics, video of him chanting “I can’t breathe” at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 has resurfaced, leading to accusations that Kanter’s political ideology aligns with whatever is popular at the time.
Enes “Whatever’s Popular” Kanter
— Attept3 (@the3rdattept) August 25, 2026
“This lame a– grifter has no identity, no values, no self-respect. He’ll whore himself out for attention anywhere he can get it, whether it’s with the left or right. He’s the type of useful idiot both parties love, willing to make a fool out of himself for clicks,” one of the top replies to the original video reads.
larp larp larp sahur https://t.co/EgMIFJLRC7
— brandon* (@brndxix) August 24, 2026
Despite Kanter’s efforts, the WNBA told Front Office Sports this week that he and Royce White’s campaigns to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft is effectively a non-starter.
“A league source called the recent declarations of the two men ‘simply publicity stunts’ and said that the league is ‘not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others.’”
“League sources also say that the WNBA does not have any legitimate and immediate eligibility matters that require action. The league will continue to discuss the topic, but it ‘will not allow outside pressure or manufactured controversy to dictate league processes,’ the source said.”
After being drafted by the Utah Jazz with the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Kanter went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA with the Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics. Throughout his career, he averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.