Matt Barnes weighed in on the controversial topic of if trans women should be allowed to play in the WNBA.
The former Los Angeles Lakers player said it’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed to maintain the integrity of the game.
“I’m pro make your choice,” he began. “… But sports is different. Sports is a different beast. … I don’t like that. If you’re born a woman, I think you should play women sports. And if you’re born a man, you should play man sports.”
There hasn’t been a single case in which a trans woman has competed in the WNBA.
Layshia Clarendon is the WNBA’s first openly trans and nonbinary player. However, she was born female. The 31-year-old guard made headlines last year when (they) revealed on Instagram that they’d undergone top surgery. Clarendon, who was selected 9th overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft, had come out as gender nonconforming several years prior—another transformational moment in the history of the league.
This is one of those things that if it were to happen, it would become a hot-button issue that would have a ton of pushback.
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Following a 15-year career that was capped off with an NBA Championship, Matt Barnes announced his retirement in 2017. Barnes, who never averaged more than 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, played for nine NBA teams over a 14-year career.
The second-round draft pick out of UCLA averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in his career and appeared in 12 playoff games for the Warriors this season.
