Charles Barkley had some WNBA players frustrated after his comments about women hating on Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
During TNT’s pregame show ahead of Game 1 of the Timberwolves-Mavericks Western Conference finals series Wednesday night, Barkley called out women that he said acted petty toward Clark — whose celebrity helped WNBA teams secure charter planes for travel and boost league ratings and attendance.
“You women out there, y’all petty, man… Y’all should be thanking that girl [Clark] for getting y’all ass private charters,” Barkley said. “All the money and visibility she’s bringing to the WNBA, don’t be petty like dudes. Listen, what she’s accomplished, give her her flowers.”
WNBA players, including Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, Liberty star and former league MVP Jonquel Jones and Chiney Ogwumike — who last played for the Sparks and took a step back from her playing career to focus on broadcasting for ESPN — disagreed with Barkley on social media.
“Seriously…. wtf are you talking about….,” Hamby wrote on X, including a clip of the Basketball Hall of Famer.
“Interested to know who are all the women that are hating on CC?” Jones added. “I’m seeing a lot of coverage about it but I don’t see the hate? I’m also not a big comment reader so I might’ve missed it.”
Mercury guard Natasha Cloud reposted a message, which included Barkley’s comments, on X that read: “I would just like men to say less. Talk with your wallets, go to games, buy jerseys, purchase a team, anything but this.”
Taking to X, Ogwumike explained, “Charles and ‘Inside the NBA’ team are the GOATs of the industry, so respectfully I’ll offer my perspective with love. Every WNBA player I know supports this rookie class and are grateful for the spotlight & money that Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and co. are bringing to the W!”
Warriors champ Draymond Green, who appeared on the TNT pregame show, said, “They’re gonna hate you even more,” referring to those women.
Barkley did not name names in his rant, but he did mention that he sided with LeBron James, who defended Clark in a recent installment of his and JJ Redick’s “Mind the Game” podcast.
“I’m just kind of in this mode right now because I’m getting the same, you know, thing from watching my son [Bronny James], who is a 19-year-old [going through the NBA draft process] kind of getting a lot of animosity and hatred towards him when he’s just a kid trying to live out his dream,” James said. “There’s a very small number of men and women that actually get to live out their dream of playing a professional sport.
“And we have grown ass men and women out here doing whatever they can to try to make sure that does not happen. That is the weirdest thing in the world, but it is what it is. And I’m glad that Caitlin has a great head on her shoulders.”
James explained that he’s rooting for Clark, the Fever’s No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April, because he “walked that road before” when he the Cavaliers drafted him with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Ogwumike also posted a series of tweets, which explained the slow and steady growth taking place in the WNBA, including charter flights, expansion teams and more.
The WNBA announced Thursday that it will have its first team outside the United States, with an expansion team coming to Toronto in the 2026 season.
Toronto is the WNBA’s 14th franchise after the league announced the Golden State Valkyries earlier this month.
The Bay’s expansion team will tip off in its inaugural season in May 2025.
