Basketball legend Charles Barkley recently tore into the WNBA’s players for how they’ve been treating rookie phenom Caitlin Clark.

During a recent interview, the basketball Hall of Famer and beloved commentator ripped into how Caitlin Clark has been treated by her fellow WNBA pros, claiming that it all stems from “petty jealousness.”

“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they cannot f—– this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley told Bill Simmons on his podcast.

“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 bulls—. This girl is incredible, the number of eyeballs she brought to college and the pros, and for these women to have this petty jealousness,” Barkley continued. 

“You’re saying to youself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?’ And the thing I love about her [Clark], she never says a word. But these ladies, who I love and respect their game, they couldn’t have f—– this thing up any worse. There’s been so much negativity and a lot of it is petty jealousness.”

Barkley is referring to the widely disrespectful way Clark has been treated since entering the WNBA earlier this year, from the routine hard fouls to being snubbed from the Olympics team to having to prove herself as the Rookie of the Year over Angel Reese despite being superior in virtually every statistical category except rebounding (and even that stat comes with some controversy due to Reese’s penchant for rebounding her own missed shots).

Clark has been a transformative figure not just for the WNBA but for women’s sports at large and it’s become obvious that some of her colleagues are lashing out against her due to the attention she receives, not realizing that a rising tide lifts all boats. Nobody had ever heard of Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter until she started beefing with Clark, for example.