Unprecedented storm in sports: NBA star moving to the women's league?

Enes Kanter Freedom, an American basketball player who played in the NBA as a center, has caused a storm in recent days after announcing that he will make himself eligible for the upcoming WNBA draft.

Let us recall, the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) is a sports organization that manages the national women's basketball league in North America. The league was established in 1996 as a counterpart to the NBA and its games began in 1997.

In a video he posted on social media, Freedom announced:

"After deep consideration and reviewing the current eligibility criteria, I am officially declaring myself a candidate for the WNBA. If all it takes is simply declaring who you are, then I meet all the necessary requirements to compete in the WNBA. I can and am declaring my entry into the upcoming WNBA draft in May 2027. I am absolutely not here to mock, laugh at, or disrespect any community or personal choices. I am simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone."

The American basketball player was selected as the third pick in the 2011 draft by the Utah Jazz team. In his first game, he set a club record for a player in a debut game when he grabbed 11 rebounds in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. On March 1, 2013, Kanter recorded a career-high game against the Charlotte Bobcats when he scored 23 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, both career highs. In November 2021, it was reported that he became a naturalized US citizen and changed his last name to Freedom, while Kanter was registered as his middle name.

Since moving to the United States, Kanter began supporting the Gulen movement led by Fethullah Gulen, a rival of Turkish President Recep Erdogan. In 2021, he spoke out against the regime in China by expressing support for Tibet, which caused the Chinese to stop broadcasting his team's games in the past season, the Boston Celtics.