Charles Barkley has a message for the NBA and WNBA commissioners: He thinks they should have shut down the recent debate over transgender athletes in the league before it became an internet free-for-all.
The longtime NBA star and current analyst said he is “disappointed” in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert over how they have handled the conversation, while making his own position on transgender athletes clear.
“I always support the gay community. I always support the transgender community,” Barkley said during an Aug. 24 appearance on Michael Smerconish’s SiriusXM radio show. “I’ve got nothing but love and respect for gay people and transgender people, but, under no circumstances do I think men should play against women. Zero.”
Barkley’s comments came during a broader conversation about the WNBA’s recent headlines, including former NBA player Enes Kanter’s appearance at a Chicago Sky game and the controversy surrounding Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Barkley Wants The League To Step In
Barkley argued that the commissioners should have addressed the issue directly rather than allowing the conversation to spread across social media and sports commentary.
“First of all, you can’t let stupid stuff go out to the internet, which is the one of the worst things that ever happened to the world,” he said.
He said Silver and Engelbert should have issued a statement weeks earlier making the league’s position clear.
When Smerconish suggested Kanter was among those benefiting from the attention surrounding the controversy, Barkley pushed back.
“He has a point though,” Barkley said. “Because Cathy and Adam haven’t said, ‘Hey, its in the title, WNBA, we’re not gonna have transgender people in the WNBA and we’re not gonna discuss it again.’”
“That’s what Adam and Cathy should’ve done two or three weeks ago before they turn it over to the internet for every fool, idiot and jackass to have an opinion on,” he added.
Barkley’s comments come as conversations about transgender participation in women’s sports continue to circulate around the WNBA, despite the fact that there are currently no transgender athletes playing in the league.
There have also been no transgender players in the WNBA during its 30-year history.
Sophie Cunningham And Caitlin Clark Enter The Conversation
The discussion also turned toward Cunningham, whose comments in an ESPN profile helped push the question of transgender athletes in the WNBA into the spotlight.
Barkley said he believes there are WNBA players who “do not like Caitlin Clark or Sophie Cunningham.”
Smerconish asked whether racism could be a factor.
“I’m not gonna get on here and call somebody a racist because I don’t have any proof,” Barkley said. “Whether it’s race, sexuality, or whatever, there’s something going on there.”
He went on to suggest several possible reasons for tension surrounding the players.
“Jealousy, I think is a part of it. Race is a part of it, and sexuality is a part of it,” Barkley said. “Now, I don’t know how much, but I feel comfortable saying they don’t like Caitlin. I don’t know why….Same thing with Sophie.”
Barkley later summed up his theory by saying, “I think it has something to do with sexuality, race, and jealousy. I think it’s all three of them. I don’t know how you break up the percentages.”
His comments add another prominent sports voice to an increasingly heated conversation surrounding the WNBA, even as the league itself has not had a transgender player.
For Barkley, the frustration is less about wanting to debate the subject indefinitely and more about wanting league leadership to establish its position.
He believes that conversation should have happened before social media turned the issue into another WNBA controversy.
