NBA Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley unloaded on WNBA players for being “petty” toward rookie star Caitlin Clark.
Appearing on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” the former player said that the WNBA, but mostly the players, have handled Clark’s rise to fame about as poorly as possible.
“These ladies — and I’m a WNBA fan — they cannot have f***ed this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley said in a clip circulating from the podcast.
“If you got a bunch of dudes in a room and said, ‘Let’s f*** up the WNBA,’ we couldn’t have come up with a massive plan [better than] what these women have done,” Barkley hilariously added.
Barkley continued, commenting on Clark’s wide appeal and ability to bring in ratings for the flailing league.
“This girl is incredible. The [amount] of attention, eyeballs she’s brought to college and the pros … and for these women to have this petty jealousness … you’re saying to yourself, ‘damn, what is going on here?'”
‘There’s been so much negativity, and a lot of it is just petty jealousness.’
Clark made headlines in June 2024 when data revealed she had been tripling the league’s average viewership when she played and was doubling the average attendance at arenas where she competed.
Still, it seems the league has fumbled its opportunities and is still likely to lose upwards of $50 million dollars for the season, Blaze News previously reported.
“The thing I love about [Clarke], she never says a word,” Barkley went on. “But these ladies, who I love and respect their game, they couldn’t have f***ed this thing up any worse.”
Barkley’s comments come after Clark recorded her second triple-double of the season with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. She was the first WNBA rookie to get a triple-double and only the sixth WNBA player to have multiple. Clark also recently became the first rookie to make 100 three-pointers in a season and the sixth player overall to complete the feat, per CNN.
“There’s been so much negativity, and a lot of it is just petty jealousness,” Barkley later commented, noting Clark’s snub from the Team USA’s Olympic roster.
“I tell you what was really good that happened to her – not making the Olympic team. Giving her that time off has given her a chance to recharge her batteries.”
Barkley has called out WNBA players for being “petty” toward Clark before, as well. In May 2024, he insulted the women of the league for not being grateful about getting private jets, which he said was thanks to Clark:
“You women out there, y’all petty, man! … Y’all should be thanking that girl for gettin’ y’all ass private charters, all the money and visibility she’s bringing to the WNBA.”
The WNBA playoffs kick off in late September; Clark’s Indiana Fever have clinched a playoff spot.
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Fearless, Basketball, Wnba, Women’s basketball, Women’s sports, Sports
