Former NBA player Royce White has needled his critics online, sharing a photo of himself in a wig while joking that he has entered his “feminine era” just days after saying he would enter the WNBA Draft.
White, 35, who appeared in just three NBA games with the Sacramento Kings, became the second former NBA player to say he plans to declare for next year’s draft as the WNBA faces ongoing debate and division over transgender participation in women’s sports.
His comments came after Enes Kanter Freedom made a similar declaration. White drew immediate backlash when he told Fox News Digital that he is now transgender and hopes to compete next season alongside players such as Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham.
White, who is also running for the Republican Senate nomination in Minnesota, has since escalated the stunt by posting a social media image of himself wearing a wig.
He used the post to mock the criticism he has received, adding a deliberately provocative caption. “It came y’all… my 1st wig!” White wrote. “Tomorrow I test it on the court.
“This is my feminine era glow up, did I slay? If y’all don’t ‘yassss queen’ you’re transphobic. I really don’t understand all the hatred, I just want to play some hoops with my fellow ladies.”
Former NBA player Royce White posted a photo in a wig while joking about his “feminine era”
White became the second ex-NBA player to say he would declare for next year’s WNBA Draft
Ex-NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom also vowed to officially declare for the WNBA Draft in 2027
The WNBA has been engulfed in controversy over transgender athletes in recent weeks, after Indiana Fever star Cunningham said she wants to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men.’
Cunningham’s comments have sparked protests and messages of support from the likes of Vice President JD Vance.
Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams claimed she would happily welcome a transgender player to her team, while Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt on the sidelines of their game against the Fever.
Royce also shared some of the abuse he has received since declaring for the WNBA Draft, which included apparent death threats and insults such as ‘stupid motherf***er.’
Earlier on Sunday, the 35-year-old appeared on Fox News to discuss the viral photo and his WNBA plans.
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‘I’m just having a blast in my feminine era,’ he said. ‘I never thought that I was a woman. I’ve always trusted the science and thought I was a man my entire life.
‘But after further review… it would appear that I am indeed sometimes identifying as a transgender woman and I think it’s only fair I get a chance to play with some of my queens here in the twilight of my career, my athletic prime.’
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement says that ‘only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,’ but it does not include any more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth.
Sophie Cunningham’s comments have left WNBA fans, players and coaches divided
White is a former first-round draft pick who only played three games in the NBA for the Kings
WNBA star Gabby Williams recently claimed she would ‘welcome’ a transgender teammate
White, a former first-round draft pick, insisted that only the WNBA releasing ‘a definitive statement about guys with a pair of b**** playing in the Women’s Association’ could stop him.
He also vowed to wear a wig while he’s playing and said WNBA players will have ‘nightmares… and they should’ about him potentially competing against them.
‘I am 260 pounds, 6ft 8, can palm a men’s basketball probably as easily as any player in history,’ White, 35, continued. ‘I think I had the third biggest hands in the history of the modern NBA Draft combine. I really feel like I’m going to be dominant.’
When asked if he would use the women’s locker room in the WNBA, he replied: ‘Of course. I don’t want to be discriminated against. Why wouldn’t I use the women’s locker room?
‘I have great respect for the skill of women’s basketball. They have to play a much more skilled game because they don’t have some of the physical God-given abilities as the men.
‘So I have great respect for the women’s game but there is a significant difference between biological men and women and we’ve blurred that line, like we’ve blurred many other lines unnecessarily, and I plan to exploit that for my economic and athletic benefit.’
Freedom, meanwhile, stands at 6ft 10ins and played in the NBA for 11 seasons. He also announced his intention to join the WNBA on Friday afternoon.
