Trump Jokes About 'Full Pardon' for Dennis Rodman and Enes Kanter Freedom to Play in the WNBA

President Trump found a new way to make a serious point about women's sports: a joke at a rally.

Speaking to supporters in Durant, Oklahoma, the President recognized former NBA players Dennis Rodman and Enes Kanter Freedom, who were both in attendance. He then jokingly offered them a "full pardon" to pursue careers in the WNBA, predicting that they would break records.

This was rally humor, not policy. No actual pardon order exists, no WNBA rule has changed, and neither man has played in a league game. The President's words simply borrowed the language of clemency.

The two men have very different connections to the subject. Kanter Freedom declared for the WNBA draft in August as part of a public challenge to the league's approach to transgender issues. Rodman, who retired from the NBA in 2000, has never expressed interest in playing in the WNBA.

The President praised Rodman's career and his five NBA championships and remarked that Kanter Freedom still looks young. He did make one slip, saying Rodman played at Oklahoma State. Rodman actually attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The two go back years, and Rodman has claimed credit for helping arrange the 2018 meeting between President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

The laugh carried a message that millions of Americans already understand. Women's sports exist because men and women are different, and fair competition depends on acknowledging it. Picture two grown men with NBA careers lining up against women, and the argument makes itself. That is the point Kanter Freedom has been trying to make, and on Thursday he got help from the biggest stage in American politics.