"A dirty play, period" NBA Hall of Famer makes big WNBA claim involving Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham

Charles Barkley does not hesitate to tiptoe around a topic, and recently, the WNBA's roughest stretch of the season gave him plenty to swing at. Talking through the league's ugliest recent headlines, the Hall of Famer landed on a claim that had nothing to do with basketball skill and everything to do with why two of the league's biggest names keep drawing so much heat from their peers.The comments came on The Michael Smerconish Program, where Barkley and the host spent time picking apart what Barkley called the WNBA's "awful year." Barkley’s comment stems from DiJonai Carrington's hard foul on Sophie Cunningham.Charles Barkley drops unexpected take on Caitlin Clark and Sophie CunninghamThe foul itself happened on Aug. 8, when DiJonai Carrington caught Sophie Cunningham in the head during a fast break, leaving her with a bloody mouth. Officials reviewed it and upgraded the call to a Flagrant 2, ejecting Carrington from the game.What turned a rough basketball play into a national story was what came next. Carrington posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" on social media shortly after, tagging the Fever, then later said she never meant the foul itself was about race without clarifying what she did mean.Barkley wasn't interested in overthinking the play. "A dirty play. Period," he said, brushing aside any attempt to complicate what he saw as a simple hard foul. He argued Carrington's post, not the contact, is what dragged race into a conversation that started on the court."When you turn stuff to the internet, all the race hustlers start coming out. We have a ton of race hustlers out there, White and Black. Let me repeat that. White and Black," Barkley said.Charles Barkley explains why he thinks WNBA stars hate Caitlin Clark and Sophie CunninghamBarkley stopped short of calling anyone in the league racist, saying flatly he had no proof for that kind of claim. But he didn't shy away from a theory of his own for why Clark and Cunningham draw so much friction from other players. He pointed to a mix of factors rather than one single cause, saying he couldn't begin to sort out how much each one mattered."Those girls do not like Caitlin Clark or Sophie Cunningham. Without regard for race, they just don’t like them," Barkley shared."She’s just a really good basketball player. Same thing with Sophie. She’s a good player. I think it has something to do with se*uality, race, and jealousy. I think it’s all three of them. I don’t know how you break up the percentages."The league is growing, players are earning more under a new labor deal, and there's a wave of young talent that should be the story. Instead, he said, the headlines keep circling back to hard fouls and social media fights instead of the games themselves. “I don’t think it works like that anymore, Michael. When’s the last time you heard something positive about the WNBA? I can’t even remember."Colin Cowherd compares Caitlin Clark to Michael Jordan and Stephen CurryWhile Barkley was dissecting the WNBA's off-court drama, Colin Cowherd was busy handing out one of the boldest comparisons Clark has received all year. On "The Herd," Cowherd described her as a blend of two of basketball's most decorated names, pointing to her refusal to engage with any of the noise surrounding her as proof of a Jordan-like mindset layered onto Curry-level scoring range.Cowherd backed the praise with numbers, noting Clark's status among the league leaders in assists and scoring while running what he called the best offense in WNBA history. Clark is averaging 22.1 points, 8.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds a game this season, numbers that have kept her firmly in the MVP conversation as Indiana heads toward the playoffs. The Fever's next test comes at home against the Sun on Aug. 28.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.