Charles Barkley appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday and spoke about LGBTQ discrimination and his opposition to North Carolina's bathroom bill.

DeGeneres highlighted the fact that Barkley was an outspoken advocate of LGBTQ rights and used his power as an influential former basketball player and sports commentator to push the NBA into moving the All-Star game in 2017 away from Charlotte.

In 2016, the Republican governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, signed House Bill 2 into law, banning cities within the state from letting transgender people use bathrooms and other public facilities that corresponded with their gender identity. 

Dozens of stars came out against the bill, but Barkley was the most surprising considering the NBA Hall Of Famer spent most of his life as a Republican.

“I hated the bathroom bill. So I went to my boss and said, ‘Hey boss, I’m gonna sit out of the All-Star Game. I don’t want to take away from the All-Star Game, but I’m gonna sit out the All-Star Game,’” Barkley told DeGeneres. 

"I gotta make a stand against discrimination," he said, adding that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver eventually decided to move the game to New Orleans.

In a tweet at the time, DeGeneres lauded Barkley for doing the right thing.

Due to the national outrage and considerable backlash from entertainment and sports icons like Barkley, the bill was partially repealed.

"As a Black person, I’m against any form of discrimination — against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it. It’s my job, with the position of power that I’m in and being able to be on television, I’m supposed to stand up for the people who can’t stand up for themselves. So, I think the NBA should move the All-Star Game from Charlotte,” Barkley told CNN in 2016.

Much of the law, however, stayed intact through its amendment, and towns across North Carolina are still barred from passing any local ordnances demanding businesses allow transgender people to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

During the interview with DeGeneres, Barkley said he stood against the law because Black people across the country are acutely aware of how unfair discrimination is. 


“I think anytime you’re Black, you’ve got to stand up for other people. Black people know what discrimination is like. If you’re in a position of power,  you’ve got to always stand up against discrimination,” he said.

"I'm blessed. I'm never going to sit back and let discrimination happen on my watch," he added.

Barkley was ahead of his time when it came to supporting LGBTQ issues. He often spoke out about it in interviews, voicing support for gay marriage in 2006. In 2011, the former basketball player lauded Jason Collins, one of the NBA's first openly gay player, during an interview with Dan Patrick. 

"Religious people, in general, are so discriminatory against other people, and that really disturbs me. My idea of religion is we all love and respect. We all sin, but we still have common decency and respect for other people. So right now I'm struggling with my idea of what religion is," Barkley told Fox SportsNet in 2006.

"I think if they want to get married, God bless them. Gay marriage is probably 1% of the population, so it's not like it's going to be an epidemic. Hey, trust me, I'm never going to kiss you and say, 'Chris, you're sexy,'" he added.

Charles-BarkleyEllen-DeGeneresLGBTQ-CommunityThe Ellen Degeneres Show