Charles Barkley: Men Shouldn't Play In Women's Sports, That's Not Controversial

 NBA legend Charles Barkley, on Outkick’s "Don’t @ Me" with Dan Dakich on Thursday, said the idea of allowing transgender athletes to play in women's sports is "wrong, period."

"I support the gay community 100%. I support the transgender community 100%. But I do not, under any circumstances—it's zero—think that men should play sports against women."

"I don't even think that's controversial," he said. "There’s a lot of stuff we can argue over. That ain’t one of them."


Asked if Stephen A. Smith has a shot at being president, he added: "No, stop it."

CHARLES BARKLEY: I'm gonna make it very simple for you, Dan: Men should not play sports against women.

I'm not going to get into all the [BS] that's going on out here in the world today. You know, it's interesting—I always sit back and look at this stuff. Let me tell you something: I love gay people. I love transgender people. I'm against any form of discrimination, period.

Because you can't say, like — I love my gay friends and I love my transgender friends — but I'm not going to get into all this stuff that's going around. Men should not play sports against women. If anybody thinks they should, I think they're stupid.

Like I said, I support the gay community 100%. I support the transgender community 100%. But I do not under any circumstances—it's zero—think that men should play sports against women.

And if anybody has a problem with that, they're gonna have to get over it. I'm not going to change. I just think it's wrong. Period.

...

I’m not one of these people—if people disagree with me, I'm good with that. Hey, we disagree. I'm not mad at you. I don't hate you. I'm not going to call you names, because that's just silly and stupid.

But I'm never going to think it's all right for men to play sports against women. I don't even think that's controversial. That's the thing that's funny. Some of this stuff—like when you see these debates on television—like, "Yeah, men shouldn't play sports against women."

I'm done. I don't want to hear you try to explain it to me. No. I don’t want to hear it. I'm not going to argue with you. Men shouldn't play sports against women. I'm done. Don't try to tell me "this or this or this." Period.

...

There’s a lot of stuff we can argue over. That ain’t one of them.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/05/09/charles_barkley_men_shouldnt_play_in_womens_sports_thats_not_controversial.html