‘Homeless crooks’: NBA legend Charles Barkley slams US city

NBA legend Charles Barkley has come under fire over comments he made during the broadcast of the All Star Game on Monday.

Charles Barkley was called out for his comments

NBA legend Charles Barkley isn’t likely to receive a warm reception for next years NBA All Star Weekend when it heads to San Francisco.

Barkley didn’t hold back on Monday as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 211-186.

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Barkley was speaking with polarising Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and ex-Pacers star Reggie Miller, now an NBA analyst as well, on TNT’s alternate broadcast from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.

During the broadcast, Green said, “Hey Reggie we love you, let’s not have another All-Star in Indiana. Let’s let this be the last one, my friend.”

That’s when Barkley chimed in and went after the city in which Green plays.

“Hey Reggie,” Barkley said. “If you had a chance of being in the cold, or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?”

“You can’t even walk around down there,” Barkley added.

When Green responded, “yes you can walk around,” Barkley responded “yeah, with a bulletproof vest.”

Charles Barkley again bashed San Francisco, this time around talk of the cold in Indianapolis. "If you had the chance between being cold or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?" pic.twitter.com/o0W9aUQCyI

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 19, 2024

The comments didn’t go down well with those watching on with fans quick to call out Barkley over the unnecessary clip.

One user wrote: “Somebody cut Barkley’s mic dog.”

A second wrote: “Barkley was on the real broadcast for maybe 1 min and found a way to drop the most controversial broadcast line of All-Star Weekend which is SAYING SOMETHING after last night. It’s supposed to be fun!”

A third added: “Oh man. Barkley’s relationship with the Bay just got worse.”

Charles Barkley slammed San Francisco

It’s certainly not the first time Barkley has criticised San Francisco.

There was a rare rain delay during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and Mavericks in 2022, where the roof at the American Airlines Center in Dallas began leaking.

Barkley used the opportunity to lament that it was not raining in San Francisco, which he believed needed it.

“The bad thing about all this rain, it’s not raining in San Francisco to clean up those dirty-ass streets they got there,” Barkley said at the time. “San Francisco, it’s a great city, but all that dirtiness and homelessness, y’all gotta clean that off the streets.”

The NBA regular season will resume on February 23.

– with nypost.com

Originally published as ‘Homeless crooks’: NBA legend Charles Barkley slams US city