Charles Barkley rips coverage of WNBA star Caitlin Clark

Over the course of the WNBA season, Yardbarker has chronicled what sports analysts and notable talking heads have had to say about Caitlin Clark and how she has been covered in her rookie campaign. And this week, Charles Barkley entered the chat.

The NBA Hall of Famer turned TV analyst went on a profanity-laced monologue with The Ringer's Bill Simmons this week with regard to Clark. His gripe? How the general media has covered the No. 1 overall draft pick.

"They cannot have f---ed this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried," Barkley said.

"People believe what we say on television. Just because people don't like you or your personality, they can't get on TV and slander you," he continued. "It's total bull----."

To Barkley's point, not all of the attention on Clark this season has been positive. While she has set records and built a campaign worthy of Rookie of the Year honors , she has also been criticized for being a bad teammate due to her competitive nature.

Barkley made it very clear he isn't buying into that line of thinking, and praised Clark for how she conducts herself.

"The thing I love about her — she never says a word," Barkley said.

Clark leads the league in average assists per game (8.4) and ranks second in average three-pointers made per game (3.0).