Charles Barkley calls out WNBA over Caitlin Clark criticism

As Charles Barkley continues to ponder his NBA media future beyond next year, maybe he should consider a career in WNBA analysis.

Barkley joined the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast and weighed in on all of the wild discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark since she joined the WNBA earlier this year.

“They cannot have f***ed thus Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley said. “This girl is incredible. What she did in college for women’s basketball, what she’s doing in the WNBA, the number of attention, eyeballs she’s brought to college and the pros, and for these women to have this petty jealousness, you say to yourself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?’ The stuff toward her is petty and jealous. And the thing I love about her, she never says a word.”

Congratulations to the WNBA on being popular enough to warrant dumb takes. But the “petty jealousness” from Clark’s peers might be a bit overstated. There may have been more players looking to test Clark because of the stature she entered the league with. And there may have been more people tuning into their first WNBA game because of Clark who were surprised by the physicality, but the “Caitlin Clark treatment” was probably more media driven than it was an actual motive by players.

“These ladies, who I love and respect their game, they couldn’t have f***ed this thing up any worse,” Barkley continued. “There’s been so much negativity. And a lot of it is just petty jealousness.”

Considering the WNBA is still setting viewership records and enjoying new heights of popularity, they probably could have f***ed it up worse. Maybe it’s because her talent is already being realized on the pro level, or maybe it’s the start of the NFL season that’s leaving less time for WNBA hot takes in the national sports conversation. But it seems like there has been less negativity surrounding Clark in recent weeks. Even the recent Sheryl Swoopes discourse has turned into Swoopes vs media more than it is Swoopes vs Clark.

It was easier to criticize Clark when she was adjusting to the WNBA and the Indiana Fever were 1-8 in May. But with the Fever winning, particularly since returning from the Olympics, there isn’t as much room for negativity surrounding Clark.

[ The Bill Simmons Podcast ]

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