Charles Barkley Questions WNBA Players’ Approach To ‘Train Wreck’ CBA Talks
NBA legend Charles Barkley has become one of the most popular sports broadcasters because he's never afraid to say what's on his mind.
This was proved true through his pointed comments about the WNBA's CBA negotiations in October of 2025, where he warned players about overplaying their hand.
Fast forward five months, and the CBA negotiations are still ongoing, and the WNBA season is now in danger of being delayed because the two sides can't agree on terms.
Charles Barkley Sends Blunt Warning To WNBA Players In CBA Talks
Barkley reiterated his warning during a March 7 episode of The Steam Room.
“I want to say this to these WNBA players: You could see this train wreck coming. You could see this damn train wreck coming. I didn’t say anything publicly. But when y’all start bad-mouthing the commissioner, you have to remember one thing: the commissioner works for the owners. The commissioner is not trying to be — I like Cathy, but she’s speaking for the owners," Barkley said.
"So now, I hear all these people on television for the last few months talking about, ‘You women, y’all got these dudes, and y’all go the commissioner, and y’all got the owners.’ I’m like, well, y’all better be careful. Because you know who has power? People who got damn money," he continued.
He then added, “I love the WNBA. I wish you women nothing but the best. But this notion that y'all were just going to hold everybody’s feet to the fire and get whatever y’all wanted, that’s not the way it works! You have to make the best deal possible. But the people who got all the money, they’re going to make the rules. ”
Barkley noted that the three most important players during the NBA's lockouts (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson) told players to sit and stay at home while the negotiations were underway. He explained that there's no world where the players will overrule the billoinaire owners, because that's not the way the world works.
"Ladies, I want you all to get paid, and I wish y'all the best. But y’all gotta be very careful. Y’all get in that room and say, ‘Hey, let’s make the best deal.’ You don’t want a strike, you don’t want a lockout. I’ve been watching for months, all these people on TV talking about, 'You can get paid what you can get.' You might not get paid what you’re worth. But you can get paid what you can get. So I wish you all the best, but hey: Y'all need to make the best deal," he concluded.
Props to Barkley for telling it how it is.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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