Former pro-basketball player and sports commentator Charles Barkley criticized the transgender athlete debate unfolding in the WNBA, saying, “Under no circumstances do I think men should play against women,” in his interview with radio host Michael Smerconish published Monday on YouTube.
During the interview, Barkley defended Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments opposing trans women and girls’ participation in women’s and girls’ sports. Cunningham told ESPN in July, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” echoing transphobic rhetoric that vilifies trans people as dangerous. Barkley said he couldn’t believe that people got mad at Cunningham “for telling the truth.”
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In response to Cunningham’s comments, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White – who are both cisgender men — began proclaiming themselves as eligible for the WNBA’s 2027 draft, since the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement and eligibility guidelines lack any specific language around gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Critics have accused Freedom and White of centering themselves in a women’s sport and referred to them as “doofuses” and “right-wing grifters.”
In a memo responding to the issue, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert wrote that a task force of team presidents and general managers would address the “complex and nuanced topic” of trans inclusion “thoughtfully, respectfully, and in alignment with the longstanding values of our league.” A source reportedly close to the WNBA told the Associated Press on Monday that both Freedom and White are ineligible, but did not explain why.
“I got nothing but love and respect for gay people and transgender people, but under no circumstances do I think men should play against women. Zero,” Barkley told Smerconish. “I’m disappointed in [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver and Cathy [Engelbert].”
“Cathy and Adam haven’t said, ‘There are no transgender people going to play in the WNBA. If you don’t like it, kick rocks. And we’re not going to discuss it anymore,’” Barkley said.
Barkley added that he worried any good news from the league is being overshadowed by controversy. “[When pro-football season begins in two weeks,] nobody’s going to care about the WNBA,” he said.
The entire issue of trans athletes in the WNBA is largely imagined, since the league has only had one known out nonbinary and trans player, Los Angeles Sparks guard Layshia Clarendon, who retired in 2024; and even they were assigned a female sex at birth.
The alleged controversy and Barkley’s comments both come at a time when President Donald Trump and Republicans nationwide have sought to remove trans women and girl athletes from girls and women’s sports teams nationwide.
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order to block federal funding from schools with trans-inclusive sports policies. His order tasked the Secretary of Education and Attorney General with taking actions — including penalties and lawsuits — against any schools that “deny female students an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them, in the women’s category, to compete with or against or to appear unclothed before males.”
The administration has pressured major athletic organizations and governing sports bodies to establish anti-trans guidelines. Trump’s executive order also pledged to prevent cisgender U.S. athletes from competing in international sports competitions that allow international trans athletes to compete alongside cis athletes.
Trans athletes have argued that anti-trans politicians who talk about “protecting women’s sports” never fight for increased funding or discourage the discrimination and sexual abuse that keep many female athletes from competing in the first place.
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