Congressman Bob Onder (R-Mo.) said in an interview on “Washington Watch” Wednesday that the WNBA is “trying to have it both ways” when it comes to the issue of men competing in women’s sports. “They’re trying to appease the woke crowd by not defining women so that some fraud can come along and say, ‘I’ve been taking some estrogen and [can] play in the WNBA.”

Earlier this month, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared their intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft based off of the league’s inclusion standards. On August 7, Kanter Freedom posted on X that he intended to be a part of the association exclusively for women, on the premise that the WNBA would accept him since it has not taken a stance against men under the guise of “transgender women” participating in women’s basketball. Before deciding to try to join the women’s draft, Kanter Freedom investigated the policy himself. “My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027,” he wrote.

The Washington Times reported that Royce White also filed paperwork declaring his intention to participate in the 2027 WNBA Draft on August 17. White told Fox News Digital, “I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I … sometimes identify as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well.”

“What they [Kanter Freedom and White] are doing is pointing out the absolute absurdity of allowing men to play in women’s sports. Sports where physical size, strength, muscle mass, [and] quickness all play a very important role, no sport more so than in basketball. It is utterly absurd to let men pretending to be women play,” Onder remarked.

On Monday, the WNBA announced that Kanter Freedom and White would not be eligible for the draft, chalking up their declarations as “publicity stunts.” Freedom and White have both said publicly that neither of them have been contacted directly by the WNBA regarding their eligibility status for the draft. 

“But Freedom, who says he identifies as a woman, he can’t play. So, it just illustrates the utter absurdity and of course, the utter unfairness, to real women, to biological women, that wokeness might force them to play with someone who is obviously physically advantaged [over them] the way Kanter Freedom and White would be,” Onder shared. 

The WNBA currently has no rule banning men who identify as transgender women from playing in the league. The 2026 collective bargaining agreement states that only women can play in the WNBA but fails to define what a woman is. ESPN reported earlier in August that the women’s basketball organization has not clarified this definition despite requests.

“We need our Christian men and women to step up and step out,” Frank Murphy, former NFL player and chair of the athletes for America Coalition and director of Community Impact at the America First Policy Institute, contended on “Washington Watch.” “We need them to say, ‘This is enough. Enough is enough, and we’re going to go out and vote like we never voted before in the midterms to let our voice and our vote count.’”

Murphy added that he had a special message for men as well. “I’m encouraging men get off the bench. … We need all men to get off the bench and get into the game. And that game is to protect our women.”

“We [Christians] can explain to you what it can do to a woman if you let a man play in women’s sports. We can help you with also showing you the word of God and show you where it stands and why it says there to protect women,” Murphy continued. 

Murphy underscored that it should not be lost on believers that those who do identify as transgender need rescuing from the error of their thinking. “Sometimes I feel like we forget that these women and men that go through these transitions and want to be something, that they need help, not just prayer. They need mental help.”