NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley called out players around the WNBA for their mistreatment of Caitlin Clark.
Upon entering the league Clark became a controversial figure, not by her own doing, but instead by the storylines surrounding her.
“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they cannot have f—-d up this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley said on The Ringer with Bill Simmons. “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. It’s just total bull—-. This girl is incredible. The number of attention, eyeballs, she’s brought to college and the pros. And for these women to have this petty jealousness you’re saying to yourself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?'”
Following Iowa’s victory over UConn in the 2024 Final Four, WNBA great Diana Taurasi gave a sly warning for the rookies entering the league: Reality was coming for the women who had looked superhuman against 18-year-olds.
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Although Taurasi didn’t directly name Clark, it was inferred that she was talking about the first overall pick.
Since those initial comments from Taurasi, a slew of WNBA veterans have shown Clark what type of competition she’ll have to face in the league.
The Indiana rookie has endured hard fouls from the likes of Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter.
Skylar Diggins intentionally bumped into Clark as she was encouraging the crowd to cheer louder as the Seattle Storm earned a 92-75 blowout loss.
“And the thing I love about her, she never says a word,” Barkley continued.”But these ladies, who I love and respect their game, they couldn’t have f—-d this thing up any worse. There’s been so much negativity and a lot of it is just petty jealousness.”
Clark hasn’t commented on the surrounding narrative of the mistreatment she’s endured since her arrival into the league. But has she neglected to comment because she doesn’t want to be painted as a victim? Or has she not complained about what has transpired because she knows that league veterans are supposed to give rookies a hard time?
As evidenced by her grit and toughness on the court, Clark is not a victim. She likely wouldn’t want to be painted as one.
However, it’s evident that she really is the best rookie in the league since so many veteran players are choosing to give her a hard time. If the players in the WNBA didn’t play their toughest against Clark, would that really show they respect her game?
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