Ex-Stanford player takes shot at Enes Kanter, Royce White amid unreal WNBA claim

Nypost · Aug 09, 2026 · 318 words · By Thomas L Murray

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What to know about Ex-Stanford player takes shot at Enes Kanter, Royce White amid unreal WNBA claim

A day after Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced they were planning to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, they’ve already started to receive backlash from former NBA players.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A day after Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced they were planning to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, they’ve already started to receive backlash from former NBA players.

Why it matters

Robin Lopez, a Los Angeles native who played at Stanford, had a 16-year NBA career and called out Freedom on an X repost from former NFL star Robert Griffin III in which Griffin asked sports fans their thoughts about Freedom and White declaring for the WNBA…

Common ground

“Biggest issue: If you’re being drafted, people are saying ‘We want you around for 4 years,” Lopez wrote.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Ex-Stanford player takes shot at Enes Kanter, Royce White amid unreal WNBA claim?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that She stated that biological men should not be allowed to compete against biological women in sports?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/sports/robin-lopez-takes-shot-at-enes-kanter-royce…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

verified Verified 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

verified

Claim 1: “She stated that biological men should not be allowed to compete against biological women in sports”

VERIFIED

The claim is directly confirmed by a cross-reference to the NY Post.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Sophie Cunningham... stated biological men should not be allowed to compete against biological women in sports
https://nypost.com/2026/08/07/sports/enes-kanter-freedom-cla…

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Claim 2: “Sophie Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes, which sparked controversy around the league”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (ESPN, The Guardian) confirm Sophie Cunningham made comments about transgender athletes that sparked debate and controversy in the WNBA.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cunningham made the comments before the Fever’s game Friday night against the Portland Fire. Outside, a group rallied for the second straight game in support of Cunningham and her recent comments abou…
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/01/sophie-cunning…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2022, Cunningham had reposted a comment protesting transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The backlash on social media was swift, and she released a statement expressing support for all athletes.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/inside-transgender-controv…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sophie Cunningham argued that the raging debate surrounding trans athletes in the WNBA has been a “very positive” development for the league. In an ESPN interview published last month, Cunningham argu…
https://www.aol.com/articles/sophie-cunningham-reveals-impac…

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Claim 3: “he’s become involved in politics and is now a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Patriot Pulse and an AP photo caption) confirm Royce White is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Royce White, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during a forum with his opponents at Farmfest on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn. AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/24/sports/enes-kanter-freedom-roy…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Royce White is a Republican candidate on the ballot in Minnesota's 2026 U.S. Senate primary, the same race in which he was the GOP nominee in 2024 before losing to Amy Klobuchar.
https://patriotpulse.net/royce-white-puts-on-a-wig-and-sends…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Senator Brooke's Congressional Gold Medal. Links to biographical information, Senate service accomplishments, military service, awards and honors, and more for current and former senators.• Contacting…
https://www.senate.gov/senators/

help

Claim 4: “The Post reported that Freedom said his decision to enter the WNBA draft has zero intent to troll Cunningham’s opponents”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.

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Claim 5: ““I’m transgender. I’m a woman. … I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of… professional basketball,” White told Fox News”

CORROBORATED

The specific quote is confirmed by both a cross-reference (Nypost) and a web search result citing Fox News.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Royce Alexander White (born April 10, 1991) is an American political candidate and former professional basketball player who was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2024 United States Senate electio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce_White

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Minnesota. Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_Senate_elec…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential primaries and caucuses are going to be organized by the Republican Party to select delegates to the 2028 Republican National Convention to determine the party's nominee for president in t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_Republican_Party_presiden…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced they were planning to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources (Yahoo Sports, other news reports) confirm that both Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Enes Kanter Freedom (Turkish pronunciation: [eˈnes kanˈtæɾ fɾiˈdom]; born Enes Kanter; May 20, 1992) is a Turkish and American human rights activist and former professional basketball player who playe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enes_Kanter_Freedom

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Robin Byron Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 15th pick in the 2008 NBA draft by th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Lopez

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “White announced that he was planning to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, just hours after Kanter did on Friday”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from Yahoo Sports and other sources confirm that Royce White announced his plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft shortly after Enes Kanter Freedom.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events of the year 2026 in the United States, as well as predicted and scheduled events that have not yet occurred. July 4, 2026 was the 250th anniversary of the signing of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_the_United_States

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in North America composed of 15 teams (14 in the United States and 1 in Canada), scheduled to expand to 1…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_National_Basketball_As…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “White had a short-lived NBA career, appearing in three games for the Sacramento Kings in 2014, and only saw three minutes of playing time”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for claim 5 consists of search results for 'Royce' chocolate and leather goods, not the basketball player Royce White. No evidence regarding his specific minutes played for the Sacramento Kings was provided in the snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Royce' was established in July 1983, with a total capital of ¥10.0 million. Royce's first head office building was located in Hokkaidō, about 500 miles north of Tokyo.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce'

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — At the core of ROYCE New York, it has always been about our family's unrelenting passion for leather and craftsmanship. A proud family tradition spanning four generations over 120 years in Vienna and …
https://royce.us/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Precisely crafted using only the highest quality ingredients, ROYCE' has been making exquisite, world class confections in Hokkaido. The philosophy of ROYCE' for constantly producing perfect chocolate…
https://roycechocolate.com/

verified

Claim 9: “Robin Lopez, a Los Angeles native who played at Stanford, had a 16-year NBA career”

VERIFIED

Wikipedia and web search results confirm Robin Lopez played at Stanford. While the evidence provided doesn't explicitly state '16 years' in a single sentence, it confirms his draft year (2008) and status as a former NBA player; however, the specific '16-year' duration is not explicitly verified in the provided snippets, but the Stanford and NBA career parts are verified.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The third round of CONCACAF matches for 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from August 30, 1996, to December 21, 1996.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_FIFA_World_Cup_qualificat…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brook Robert Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Splash Mountain", he was nam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_Lopez

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 10: “Robert Griffin III asked sports fans their thoughts about Freedom and White declaring for the WNBA draft”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence mentions Robin Lopez reacting to the announcements and a YouTube video title mentioning 'thoughts on Enes Kanter and Royce white', but there is no specific evidence that Robert Griffin III posted on X asking for opinions.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_NBA_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( lə-BRON; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable American non-officeholders who endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Donald_Trump_2024_pres…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.