NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is known for making controversial statements and giving "hot takes" about pro basketball as a co-host of NBA ON TNT and Inside of The NBA. But his tenure as a "talking head" may be coming to an end as he's planning to leave his post as a commentator citing “cancel culture” as the main reason.
Appearing on WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, Barkley lit into those who he deemed responsible for censoring him while explaining why cancel culture has gone too far.
“It’s gotten so out of hand right now, I couldn’t imagine having to watch myself. You can’t even have fun nowadays without these jackasses trying to get you canceled and things like that,” Barkley argued. “[I’m] just having fun, talking about sports. I’m trying to hang on for another couple years until I’m 60, and then they can kiss my ass.”
“I’m only working until 60. I’ve already told them that. We can’t even have fun anymore. We’ve had fun all these years, and now all of a sudden in the last year and a half, everybody’s trying to get everybody fired, and it really sucks,” he added.
Barkley mentioned that superiors at the network ended his running joke about the weight of women in San Antonio, Texas. Barkley would go out of his way to point out the size of the women in San Antonio with Shaquille O’ Neal egging him on during the show.
“If you crack a joke the wrong way, they’re like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, you crossed the line.’ I mean, they won’t even let me talk about San Antonio anymore when I’m always talking about their big ole women down in San Antonio, “ he said.
“They’re like, ‘Charles, we got one lady [who] wrote an article.’ “I’m like, 'First of all, I didn’t call anybody personally fat in San Antonio; I was just joking around. … We’ve been having fun with this for probably 10–15 years. We go to San Antonio; the people are having a blast with it. The people in San Antonio had T-shirts made up, “ he continued.
Barkley mentioned that his joke had been a part of the program for years and the women of San Antonio were in on it by making jokes about his size as well.
Besides being an NBA legend, Barkley’s stature has grown immensely as a co-host of one of the most popular sports shows. The Emmy winning program features basketball analysis but has also aired specials on racial equality, voting rights, police shootings and gender issues.
"One of my favorite phrases is, 'We agree to disagree.' I'm not mad. I don't want you to be mad. We just disagree,” he remarked. But unfortunately, it's been happening for a couple years now. If people disagree with you they're going to get fired."
