NBA champion Matt Barnes says he’s against transgender women playing in WNBA

NBA champion Matt Barnes said that although he supports the transgender community, he is not in favor of trans women participating in certain professional sports leagues.

Barnes shared his personal views about transgender women potentially playing in the WNBA during an interview with VladTV.

“I don’t like that. If you’re born a woman, you should play women’s sports. If you’re born a man, you should play men’s sports. I think the sports thing is a little different,” Barnes said.

The interview was posted to the Vlad TV YouTube account on Oct. 21. Barnes’ comments were made in reference to NCAA swimming champion Lia Thomas.

Thomas’ achievements were called into question when it was revealed that she was born a male but began hormone therapy in 2019.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke out against Thomas and said he believed the other athletes were put at a competitive disadvantage.

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Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner also acknowledged that while Thomas followed all the rules those rules were not fair.

During an interview with Fox News in June, Jenner said Thomas “played by the rules” but was “[given] the ability to honestly take away medals from other athletes.”

Jenner went on to point blame at college sport’s governing body.

“My beef has been with the NCAA. They’ve got to harden these rules because the NCAA should be out to protect women’s sports,” Jenner said.

Barnes spoke about NBA superstars such as Kevin Durant hypothetically playing in the WNBA and said, “It’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.”

The VladTV YouTube account has more than 5 million subscribers.

Barnes said he is “pro make your choice,” but as it relates to sports, he believes a difference exists.

“Sports is different. Sports is a different beast,” he said.