Ex-NBA Player Royce White Plans to Pursue WNBA, Claims To Be Transgender
Ex-NBA Player Royce White I am 'Sometimes' Transgender ... WNBA, Get Ready for Me!
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Ex-NBA player Royce White has announced he's transgender and plans to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft ... making him the second former pro to do so within a day.
EXCLUSIVE: Former NBA first-round pick Royce White says he's declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, claiming he now identifies as transgender for the purpose of playing professional basketball.
The 6-foot-8 former Houston Rockets draft pick follows fellow former NBA player Enes… pic.twitter.com/yUI8NdoiaX @FoxNews
Check it out -- the former pro baller explained it loud and clear during a Friday interview with Fox News, saying ... "I’m transgender ... I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of professional basketball, so I will be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well."
Royce played 3 official NBA games during the 2013-14 season with the Sacramento Kings and is currently a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
He added in his announcement, "I don't want to be discriminated against. I want fair treatment ... as a sometimes identifying as a transgender woman athlete."
Royce's comments came after his fellow former NBA pro Enes Kanter Freedom said he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft after realizing all he has to do is identify as a woman, per the league's eligibility guidelines around inclusion.
Article XIII of the WNBA’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement reads that "Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA" ... but doesn't go on to define what "women" are.
Kanter noted, "I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices. I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone -- the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for."
Chatter over transgender inclusion in the WNBA erupted after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said she wants "to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men" last month.
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The Women’s National Basketball Players Association later spoke out about the drama, stating ... "We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm."
The WNBPA added, "We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns."
And remember, TMZ DC got Ted Cruz on Capitol Hill earlier this week ... and he challenged us on the whole transgender athlete debate.
