Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom said Wednesday that his social media accounts are being flooded with death threats and images of Charlie Kirk’s assassination as he continues challenging the WNBA’s eligibility rules.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom said Wednesday he is receiving death threats as often as once an hour, including messages invoking the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, amid his ongoing campaign challenging the WNBA’s eligibility rules.
Freedom described the threats during an appearance with Harris Faulkner on Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” responding to criticism that his recent effort to enter the 2027 WNBA draft is intended merely to attract attention.
“I want to make this very clear because a lot of the WNBA players are coming out and saying I do this for attention,” Freedom said.
“Let me tell you something. My DMs (direct messages on X) are full of pictures and videos of the moment that Charlie Kirk got shot. They’re saying that I am next very soon.”
“This is unacceptable, and I’m getting death threats once every hour because of simply following the WNBA rules.”
Freedom and former NBA player Royce White announced last month that they identify as women and intend to enter the 2027 WNBA draft, framing the move as a challenge to language in the league’s collective bargaining agreement stating that only women are eligible to play. League sources subsequently told Reuters that neither former NBA player is eligible for the WNBA and characterized their declarations as publicity stunts.
Freedom has continued pressing the issue publicly and said Wednesday that he intends to pursue playing in 2027 unless the league changes its eligibility language.
“The commissioner of the WNBA – Cuckoo Cathy (Engelbert), I call her – stepped down because she couldn’t take the pressure. But I just hope whoever the next commissioner is makes the right decision and add the word ‘biological’ in their collective bargaining, or I am playing in 2027.”
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced last week that she will retire at the end of 2026 after seven years leading the league. Her departure comes amid broader labor negotiations and rapid expansion of the WNBA, although the league has not said her retirement resulted from Freedom’s campaign or the transgender-athlete debate.
Freedom’s comments can be viewed here.
Faulkner reacted with concern after Freedom described the messages he said he has been receiving.
“Well, that was a shocker,” Faulkner said. “You really dropped something on us there. That’s a real threat.”
“That’s very concerning, and considering the one-year observance from all of us is this week with Charlie Kirk’s assassination. I know you’re taking that seriously.
“I pray for you and for this country. We cannot become worse than we already are at this moment.”
Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at Utah Valley University, and Thursday marks the first anniversary of his death.
Freedom’s dispute with the WNBA intensified in August after he was removed from a Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game following a verbal confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. He later sued the Chicago Sky, the city of Chicago and the authority operating Wintrust Arena, alleging that his removal violated his First Amendment rights.
His latest remarks shift attention from the eligibility dispute itself to the threats he says it has generated, with Freedom maintaining that messages referencing Kirk’s assassination are now arriving repeatedly as he continues his push over the WNBA’s definition of player eligibility.
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