Charles Barkley was once somewhat derisively called ‘Sir Charles’. Despite the royal prefix, which alludes to being polished in social graces and measured in words, Barkley has been known to ruffle the feathers of decorum, both with his actions on the basketball court and verbally with his second career as a sports analyst.
Intermittently, he is the source of great controversy for things he says about players, the state of America, and Black people in general.
At times, some of the things that Charles says about the latter seem totally out of touch with the everyday experience of the black man, woman and child. So much so that he is then derided. However, since most of that commentary comes on social media, it’s rare that Barkley would even see them.
But if you ever wanna squeeze a good quote out of him, ask Charles Barkley about his critics. I did and here’s what happened.
On criticism that he doesn’t know basketball:
“You know it’s basketball, right? It’s not brain surgery. I don’t think anybody wants me operating on them. It’s probably easier for me to watch college basketball than it is for me to watch the pro game. These players aren’t as good as pros. But it’s not like I’m doing ankle surgery or doing work at Urgent Care. I’m definitely watching basketball.”
On Social Media:
“I’m not a social media guy. Every loser has an opinion, every loser thinks their opinion is important and it’s one of he evils of the world. I do no social media whatsoever. Never have, never will. But, hey man, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.”
On Blacks Who Question His “Blackness”:
“I don’t worry about that. Listen, my track record speaks for itself. The one thing I’ve learned as a Black man is everytime I say something that is not 100 percent in agreement with the Black community there’s a faction that goes crazy. I don’t care about that. People say to me ‘Man, did you just give a million dollars to a Historically Black College?”
“I say ‘Yeah.’ And they say ‘Well, why didn’t you tell anybody?’ and I say ‘I’m not trying to impress those cocks*ckers.’ I just gave Morehouse, Clark Atlanta and Alabama A&M in Huntsville. A million dollars to help black kids go to college. I just gave Auburn two million to recruit black kids. I’m good with my blackness. Listen, man, one thing I understand about being black and famous is a lot of black people are full of shit. I’m good with that.”
