As anyone who follows the NBA at this point knows, Charles Barkley sometimes says some things that can be questionable. What many do not realize is that this is not something new. Barkley has always been someone who says whatever he wants, and when he played, it was a lot worse than what he’s saying now.
While some believe that the things Barkley is saying now are definitely wrong, if they heard what he said back then, they would definitely hate the guy.
At one point, he put a kick** on his sneakers when he played against the Chicago Bulls. He did it and didn’t even get the win as Michael Jordan dropped nearly 40 points in a 96-85 victory. The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t necessarily the best team back then, but Barkley hoped they could beat the Bulls.
Charles Barkley Magic Johnson Comments
Now, if this is all Charles Barkley did, it certainly wouldn’t be something that’s being talked about much today. However, if a player were to come out with it on their sneakers during NBA 2023, we’d likely see fights and punishments left and right.
During his final season with the Philadelphia 76ers, 1991-1992, Barkley chose to wear number 32 in honor of Magic Johnson.
Magic announced just before the season that he was HIV positive, and the players wanted to support him.
There were also members of the media who did not understand what HIV was at the time and were interested in what it would be like to play with Magic when he returned to the court. What Charles Barkley said next shocked the country because he said something that many at the time considered too sensitive.
“We’re just playing basketball,” Barkley said. “It’s not like we’re going out to have unprotected sex with Magic.”
Yes, that’s a real Barkley quote and he probably meant every single word. The world at the time was afraid of HIV and didn’t necessarily understand how it could affect them. Once the world went mad, but Barkley knew they would have to have some kind of intercourse to get the disease.
While it certainly wasn’t the right thing to say from his point of view, there was some truth behind the comment.
It doesn’t seem like Barkley and Magic hate each other now. There wasn’t necessarily a time when the two were hanging out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other because of those comments.