16-year NBA veteran eviscerates ex-players 'declaring' for WNBA — 'Biggest issue'

Sian Jones Mon, August 10, 2026 at 11:40 PM UTC

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Robin Lopez called out former NBA players for "declaring" themselves for the 2027 WNBA draft -Credit:2026 NBAE

Robin Lopez has taken aim at former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White after both appeared to "declare" themselves available for the WNBA.

White, a former NBA player and Republican Senate candidate who appeared in just three games during his brief career in the league, announced Friday that he intends to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft. “I’m transgender. I’m a woman… I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of… professional basketball,” White told Fox News.

His announcement came just hours after former first-round pick and ex-New York Knicks center Freedom revealed his own plans to enter the draft. Freedom said he and his team had examined the WNBA’s eligibility rules, including its policies around self-identification and inclusion. He claimed that, if self-identification alone was enough to qualify, he would meet the criteria to play in the league. It comes as Sophie Cunningham offered an explicit response after the DiJonai Carrington clash.

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Lopez, a Los Angeles native and Stanford alum who spent 16 years in the NBA, weighed in on the controversy after former NFL star Robert Griffin III asked fans on X for their thoughts on Freedom and White declaring for the WNBA Draft. “Biggest issue: If you’re being drafted, people are saying ‘We want you around for 4 years,” Lopez said. “& I can’t imagine anybody wants Enes Kanter or Royce White around them for 4 minutes.”

White responded to Lopez’s comment, saying: "“Lol join the club ROBIN… I’ll slap your big goofy a--, b---- slap you like pootie tang! I will fight over these trans rights.” Lopez responded to White and said: “Yes we get it you love slapping people with women’s names.”

The controversy erupted last week after Indiana Fever star Cunningham spoke out in support of excluding biological males from girls’ and women’s sports, triggering rallies and protests in Seattle and Portland as the Fever traveled through both cities.

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Royce White has declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft -Credit:Getty

The WNBA Players Association responded on Friday with a statement championing diversity and inclusion, while insisting the union would not allow its players to be used as “political pawns.”

“We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion,” the statement read. “Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change.

'Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”

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The issue is now set to be discussed at a previously scheduled meeting next week involving a task force of team presidents and general managers, as the debate over transgender athletes in women’s basketball continues to intensify. “I know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women’s basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert wrote in a memo sent Friday.

“I 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.”

It comes as Carrington sent a chilling reminder to Cunningham after the brutal hit.

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Source: “AOL Sports”