Charles Barkley recently made a rather straightforward but controversial statement about trans-identifying athletes playing sports against women. While taking a hard stance on the subject, Barkley said:
“Men should not play sports against women. I’m not going to get into all the bulls**t that’s going out here in the world today. If anybody thinks that, I think they’re stupid.”
Barkley’s comments were primarily regarding trans-identifying athletes in women’s sports. The former NBA player continued to build his case by adding, “I support the gay community 100%, I support the transgender community 100%. But I do not, under any circumstances, zero, think that men should play sports against women. And if anybody has a problem with that, they’re going to have to get over it. Because I’m not going to change. I just think it’s wrong. Period.”
“If people disagree with me, I’m good with that,” added Barkley. “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.”
Barkley’s comments do not take an aggravated tone at any point, as he maintains a disposition of being open-minded and respectful of others’ opinions. However, he makes it abundantly clear that he didn’t even believe his thoughts on the matter were controversial in any capacity.
“There’s a lot of s**t we can argue over. That ain’t one of them,” said Barkley, concluding his statement.
It is hard to pinpoint Barkley’s statement as controversial, primarily because of the support he has shown towards the LGBTQ+ community in the past as well. From this standpoint, it is difficult to label his point of view as bigoted or transphobic.
The topic of trans-identifying athletes in popular sports has been a rather heated point of debate. Players such as Barkley, who appear to be more supportive of the community, feature on one side of the argument. Although the former NBA player isn’t in favor of these athletes in women’s sports, he harbors no ill will toward the community.
Meanwhile, players like Enes Freedom have been very verbal in expressing their disregard for the transgender community as well as trans athletes in sports.
A larger issue surrounding the topic sees its roots developed in making a mockery of the community. An example of such a case was seen when US President Donald Trump provoked Lakers star LeBron James and implied that if the forward wanted to undergo a sex change, he would want James on his team.
Such comments systematically tend to tear down the causes that several marginalized communities fight for. With regards to Barkley’s comments as well, his voice is just one among many. With both sides of the argument presenting some degree of validity, it eventually does come down to the athletes competing.
