Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has weighed in on the subject of transgender participation in female sports, specifically in the WNBA.
Barkley made his comments while reacting to former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
“I’m disappointed in [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver and Cathy [Engelbert] the [WNBA] commissioner,” Barkley told CNN’s Michael Smerconish, via FOX News.
“First of all, you can’t let stupid stuff go out to the internet, which is one of the worst things that ever happened to the world. They should have come out two weeks ago before all this. People are looking for attention now…but [Freedom] has a point though, because Cathy and Adam haven’t said, ‘Hey, it’s in the title, WNBA.”
Charles Barkley Rips WNBA
Kanter and White cited a gray area in the WNBA’s CBA to identify themselves as women and declare to for the Draft. The CBA stipulates that only women are eligible to play the WNBA, but does not clearly specify gender identity or sex assigned at birth.
Barkley urged WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to take a harder stance on the league’s participation eligibility.
“‘There’s no transgender people going to play in the WNBA. If you don’t like it, kick rocks. And we’re not going to discuss it anymore.”
“When’s the last time you heard something positive about the WNBA? I can’t even remember. And I’m a WNBA fan,” Barkley said.
The 1993 NBA MVP further ripped the WNBA for a perennial negative news cycle.
“When’s the last time you heard something positive about the WNBA? I can’t even remember. And I’m a WNBA fan,” he rued.
Enes Kanter Ups the Ante
Barkley, though, understands that Kanter has been trying to antagonize the WNBA with his antics, which includes attending the Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky game on Sunday night wearing a t-shirt with the biological definition of a woman.
“And Enes is trying to get attention,” Barkley said of the former NBA center.
“‘No, we’re not doing that either. The WNBA is for women. And listen, this is the last time we’re going to discuss it. We’re not going to turn it over to the fools on the internet.
“We’re not going to turn it over to Congress and things like that.
“The WNBA is for women only. Period,” added the “Inside the NBA” analyst.
The ongoing WNBA–transgender debate picked up steam after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that she wasn’t in favor of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she said. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The WNBA recently formed a task force to discuss what Engelbert called a “complex and nuanced topic” in a memo issued after Kanter’s Draft declaration.
Charles Barkley Drops True Feelings on WNBA-Transgender Debate