Indiana House Rep. Marlin Stutzman is demanding that outgoing WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert define “woman” in the league’s eligibility rules.
In a letter to Engelbert obtained by Fox News’ sports vertical OutKick, Stutzman and other members of Congress questioned Engelbert’s leadership when it comes to the question of trans athletes. The letter accuses the league of “repeated failure to protect the players in your league.”
The letter, signed by Stutzman as well as legislators Sherri Biggs, Erin Houchin, John Rose, and Zach Nunn, calls out the WNBA for failing to define “women” in its eligibility standards, which allows any woman to be a part of the professional women’s league.
“As a women’s sports league, the WNBA must ensure the League remains exclusively for biological women,” the letter reads, per OutKick. “As Sophie Cunningham has commented, women should not have to face biological men playing in the WNBA. Opening eligibility to biological men would not only create an unfair advantage but would also risk player safety for the women playing in the WNBA.”
The letter specifically cites the cases of former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, both of whom announced their intent to register in the WNBA draft as women on August 7. The WNBA ruled both White and Freedom ineligible to be in the WNBA in late August.
Citing the WNBA’s decision to ban Freedom and White, Stutzman wrote, “This action indicates the League certainly understands the biological difference between men and women, and has even gone so far as to enforce that distinction when deciding eligibility.”
The Republican-written letter speaks not only on the WNBA’s eligibility rules, but also comments on recent issues around fouling at games, highlighting a flagrant foul called on DiJonai Carrington for making contact with Sophie Cunningham’s face at an August 8 game. The letter also draws attention to a verbal exchange between Freedom and Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud on August 23. The exchange resulted in Freedom being ejected from Wintrust Arena, but not before taking pictures of himself lurking outside the women’s restroom.
The letter requests that Engelbert and the WNBA provide answers to four questions by October 16, including: what actions the WNBA has taken to address hostility and violence between players on the court; whether the WNBA has instituted a policy for addressing verbal confrontations with fans; how the WNBA defines “women” in its eligibility rules ;and, lastly, why Freedom and White were deemed ineligible for the 2027 draft.
The letter does not outline any specific consequences if Engelbert does not respond by the proposed deadline.
Engelbert announced on September 4 that she would be leaving the WNBA as its commissioner at the end of 2026 following a seven-year tenure. “I retire knowing we have built something bigger, stronger and more enduring than we could have imagined,” Engelbert wrote a press release announcing her exit.
The GOP letter continues the heightened scrutiny that the WNBA has faced regarding its eligibility rules, despite the fact that there has never been a trans woman on a WNBA roster and there is no legitimate trans athlete currently trying to declare for the 2027 draft, per the Associated Press.
Of course, part of the reason no trans women are in the WNBA or have been deemed eligible for the draft is because the American right has constructed a political environment in which trans women are not allowed to compete at the collegiate level. Currently, most drafted WNBA players come from within the college-based NCAA system, which banned trans women from women’s sports in February 2025, buckling under the pressure of an anti-trans executive order from President Donald Trump. Additionally, 27 states currently ban trans athletes from participating in teams that align with their gender identity, per the Movement Advancement Project.
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