Charles Barkley and the San Antonio Spurs’ fans have a complicated relationship. While fans often welcomed the NBA legend to the city in Texas, Charles Barkley was not very fond of going there. He claims to love churros but also playfully takes jabs at women from San Antonio, but it could be interpreted in today’s world as fat-shaming.
In a recent interview with the ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast, the NBA legend slammed cancel culture in the modern generation and how it has made it difficult to even joke about something. The host asked him if he is worried about Victor Wembanyama becoming a generational talent, as that would mean he would need to travel to San Antonio several times for the NBA Finals. Barkley clarified that it is not the case.
“Listen, man. I want the Spurs to do good. Because of my love for Coach Popovich. You know, I like messing with them. There are some great fans down there.”
“They have fun with it. See, you guys are so much younger than me. See, the world is so f***ed up now… I tell people, remember when you could actually tell jokes back in the day, and people laughed? Now they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re going to get cancelled. You’re going to get fired.’ I’m like, you know, sometimes a joke is just a joke.”
“That’s the thing I hate about this whole society today. I think that people I trust people they’re like he’s joking. If I called a person fat, that’s rude and disrespectful.”
“I would never punch, I would never say it to her, I would never walk up on a woman and say you’re fat. That’s just rude and inappropriate. Number one, I’m big myself,” clarified the NBA legend about his viral digs at San Antonio women.
“But this thing has gotten so out of whack now. Come on, man. I trust the public. Y’all know I’m just joking about some things, but it’s gotten so out of whack. Like I can’t imagine you guys, you have to worry about what you say, all the time, which is stupid.”
“I think that let’s say if I heard y’all say something, I’m like that was a joke, right? F***ing relax, right? Like, but somebody’s always— somebody’s offended by everything.”
Becoming more sensitive to words is a part of human evolution as a whole generation has grown up seeing the impact of verbal abuse and realized how words can do a lot more damage than actions can. But as a result, the modern NBA world seems to have become overly sensitive, in Barkley’s opinion.
Barkley has been very liberal in his opinions throughout his career, but is he right? Does this modern generation not know where to draw the line between a joke and a verbal attack? Something to think about, especially for our young readers.
