Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, AP source says

NEW YORK (AP) — Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, a person familiar with the decision said Monday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation. The person did not elaborate on the reasons for declaring the two men ineligible.

Freedom and White have declared their intention to enter next year's draft, but the WNBA has not publicly addressed their eligibility.

The WNBA has been the subject of recent debates on whether transgender women — people assigned male at birth who transition to align with their gender identity — should be allowed to participate in the league. There has never been such a player in the WNBA.

Although the league’s collective bargaining agreement says the WNBA is restricted to women, it contains no more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth. When they announced their intention to enter the draft, Freedom and White said they identified as women.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Freedom played 11 seasons in the NBA. White played in three NBA games.

Freedom was ejected from Sunday night’s Indiana-Chicago game after he was confronted by Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.

Freedom was sitting along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”

The Fever called for a timeout after Cloud scored inside with 1:22 left in the third. Cloud then did a chest bump with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before turning around and walking in Freedom’s direction.

Cloud, 34, started yelling and pointing at Freedom, 34, as she approached him. A standing Freedom held his arms out and took one step on the court as security and a handful of Sky players moved in between the two.

Freedom stopped near the basket to plead his case to security as he was escorted from the court area. He spun around while holding his shirt out and encouraged the crowd to respond as he walked toward the front lobby.

He had a conversation with a group of police officers before departing Wintrust Arena.

“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!” Freedom wrote on social media Sunday night. “Let that sink in, AMERICA!”

Cloud met with team and league security after the game. She did not speak with the media.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said in an ESPN profile published last month that she was opposed to transgender girls and women competing in girls’ and women’s sports, and since then the league has been embroiled in debates about transgender participation. Freedom joined a small rally in support of Cunningham outside the arena before the game.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud argues with former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom, right, during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom greets a friend before a WNBA basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A mental health advocate suspected of killing her police officer husband was found dead Monday, six days after she disappeared from her Massachusetts home, authorities said.

Karen Solomon, an advocate who called for improvements and greater awareness of police mental health issues, had disappeared after Worcester Police Officer Kurt Solomon was found dead at their home just before 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 18. Officials had named Karen Solomon a suspect and said she was believed to be armed.

“We believe this case is a tragic murder-suicide that occurred,” Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said at a news conference Monday.

Two people who worked at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital reported finding human remains nearby, and officers recovered a woman’s corpse, Saucier said. A final ID was still pending, but authorities said they were confident it was Karen Solomon.

A handgun found near her body was not a Worcester police service weapon, and investigators were working to determine who owned it.

On Aug. 19, authorities released doorbell camera footage of Karen Solomon walking down a street in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, just minutes after officers responded to the couple’s home and found her husband’s body.

Kurt Solomon, who had served 31 years with the police department, was mortally injured with a sharp object, authorities have said.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Karen Solomon had been at the house on the morning of her husband's death, and investigators were looking to question her. An arrest warrant issued over the weekend charged her with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Police handed out flyers with her photo to drivers in the area. An intensive law enforcement search that included local, state and federal agencies centered on the area near the couple's Worcester home and a reservoir about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away. Authorities had deployed drones, boats and tracking dogs.

Karen Solomon, 58, co-founded the group First H.E.L.P., which advocates for the mental health of police officers. She also wrote two books — “Hearts Beneath the Badge” and “The Price They Pay” — about the physical and psychological experiences of first responders.

In a 2020 interview on the “Dr. Phil” show with Phil McGraw, she said police departments often offered little help to the families of officers who took their own lives.

In a statement read by Saucier during Monday's news conference, the Solomon family thanked law enforcement for helping them find some answers.

“The nightmare of the past week has left our family heartbroken and rudderless," the family said. “The compassion, dedication and empathy of all agencies involved have given us light in face of darkness.”

A wake for Kurt Solomon was scheduled for Tuesday, and his funeral for Wednesday, the police chief said. The local police union president, Thomas Duffy, described him as “a tremendous human being” who was like family.

This screen grab made from video provided by WCVB-TV shows a police officer standing guard over a home in Worcester, Mass., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (WCVB-TV via AP)