Charles Barkley didn\u2019t hold back while discussing debates on transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports and Enes Kanter Freedom\u2019s protest at the Fever-Sky game on Sunday night. <\/p>\n
During a Monday appearance on Michael Smerconish\u2019s Sirius XM radio show<\/a>, the \u201cInside the NBA\u201d star explained that he\u2019s \u201cdisappointed\u201d in NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner for not drawing a line in the sand while attention seekers look to capitalize on the trans conversation.<\/p>\n Barkley began by sharing that he \u201calways supports\u201d both the gay and transgender community when asked about Kanter \u2014 who wore a black T-shirt that read, \u201cWOMAN noun. adult human female\u201d at the Sky-Fever game.<\/p>\n WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks with media before the 2026 WNBA All Star Game at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cI\u2019m disappointed in Adam Silver and Cathy [Engelbert], the commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 People are looking for attention now. But he [Kanter] has a point though. Because Cathy and Adam haven\u2019t said, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s in the title. WNBA. We\u2019re not going to have transgender people in the WNBA, and we\u2019re not going to discuss it again.\u2019 <\/p>\n Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom looks on during the second half of a game between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena on Sunday, August 23, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Adam and Cathy should have done two or three weeks ago before they turned it over to the internet and every fool, idiot, and jackass to have an opinion on. Adam should come out [and say], and Cathy, I like both of them a lot \u2014 \u2018There\u2019s no transgender people going to play in the WNBA. If you don\u2019t like it, kick rocks. And we\u2019re not going to discuss it anymore.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Freedom, who turned to politics after his 11-year NBA career, was kicked out of Wintrust Arena on Sunday night over\u00a0a verbal altercation<\/a>\u00a0with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud during a timeout called in the third quarter.<\/p>\n It came after Freedom declared for the 2027 WNBA draft earlier this month. <\/p>\n \u201cEnes is trying to get attention,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cListen, if he did all the operations things \u2014 no, we\u2019re not doing that either. [Silver and Engelbert should have said] \u2018The WNBA is for women, and listen, this is the last time we\u2019re going to discuss it. We\u2019re not going to turn it over to the fools on the internet. We\u2019re not going to turn it over to Congress. The WNBA is for women only, period. And we\u2019re not going to discuss it again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Charles Barkley during an appearance on Michael Smerconish\u2019s Sirius XM radio show, on August 24, 2026. YouTube<\/p>\n Barkley went on to explain that debates of transgender atheltes in women\u2019s sports has overshadowed the historic CBA agreement the players fought for in March, as well as other basketball storylines and rising stars, such as Minnesota Lynx rookie, Olivia Miles. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was a great summer for them,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cThey all got raises. They started making the money that they deserve. They expanded. They\u2019re going to increase games next season. But I can\u2019t remember the last time I heard something positive about the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media before the NBA Cup game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n Freedom and former NBA player Royce White, who also declared for the WNBA draft, will not be eligible to play in the WNBA, league sources\u00a0told Front Office Sports<\/a> in a report published Monday. <\/p>\n The WNBA\u2019s new collective bargaining agreement in Article XIII, Section 1(a), states: \u201cOnly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n The CBA, agreed upon in March, does not include any language around gender identity or gender assigned at birth.<\/p>\n No known transgender woman has played in the WNBA.<\/p>\n