Former NBA player Royce White drew an enthusiastic crowd at an Indiana Fever game on Friday night, in an appearance he says was unannounced, on an evening when gymnast Simone Biles was also in attendance. White, who recently declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft as a self-identified transgender woman, said fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse greeted him warmly, stopping to shake his hand and take photographs, in what he described as a stark contrast to the hostile reception given to Enes Kanter Freedom at a Chicago Sky game the previous Sunday.

White told the outlet he gave the Fever no advance notice of his attendance and that his ticket was not bought under his own name, with the team declining to comment when approached. He contrasted the welcome he received with the treatment of Freedom, who was heckled and later ejected from the Sky game after security had been alerted to his presence in advance. Also at Friday's game were Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and commentator Riley Gaines, both of whom spoke with White; Gaines, who has previously clashed publicly with Biles over transgender participation in women's sports, noted that fans' reception of her in Indiana was friendlier than during an earlier WNBA game she attended in Minneapolis.