After Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James came to the defense of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark amid her rookie growing pains, former NBA player-turned-commentator Charles Barkley has taken it a step further.
Ahead of the first game of the 2024 Western conference finals in the NBA, Barkley said the women of the WNBA need to stop being petty about the perceived attention Clark is getting and be thankful for the opportunities she’s opening up for the league with her arrival.
“You women out there, y’all petty, man,” Barkley said on the broadcast. “LeBron, you are 100% right on these girls hating on Caitlin Clark. Y’all petty girls.”
It’s hard to really discern exactly what Barkley is going for here, as the overwhelming sentiment for Clark’s arrival has been more skewed onto unfair criticisms over her on-court performance a handful of games into her WNBA career as opposed to any perceived pettiness over her general presence, although maybe he’s referring to comments made by, say, Diana Taurasi.
It’s fair to want the spotlight to become more equitable for the other stars of the WNBA, ones who have put in more work and have found more success than Clark has with just a few games under her belt. It’s also fair for Clark to be getting a lion’s share of the attention right now, as she’s one of the league’s most anticipated arrivals in its multi-decade history.
At the least, Barkley’s comments feel a bit petty for what the actual reaction is for Clark joining the WNBA. Fans weren’t really having this.
