Charles Barkley slams NCAA for toothless investigations, inequality in women’s hoops
One reason people love watching Charles Barkley on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” is his candor.
Barkley, the former 76ers/Suns/Rockets star, even will sound off on a variety of non-NBA subjects, whether it’s actor Jussie Smollett or the NCAA administration.
The latter happened Sunday night when TNT’s NBA crew was doing its annual work during the men’s NCAA Tournament. Kenny Smith was talking about the NCAA rulebook when Barkley cut him off.
“Please stop. … Stop that ‘rules’ stuff,” Barkley said.
Smith held up the rulebook and responded: “The rules in the NCAA are as thick as this book.”
Barkley was having none of it as he mentioned stories of wiretapped conversations involving college head coaches, which have led to investigations that are ongoing.
“The NCAA, they’re like the Barney Fife of the world,” Barkley said. “They do an awful job of administrating. We’ve got guys on tape (talking of) paying players three years ago, they ain’t said nothing about it.
“The NCAA, they are so far behind the times, they’re so reactive. It’s time for them to get their crap together. They say they want to stop cheating, they want to make everything equal with the women because that was a travesty and a disgrace.”
For those who don’t know, Barney Fife was a bumbling sheriff’s deputy on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Barkley also called on the broadcasters and others to put pressure on the NCAA to change.
“It’s time for us, because we’re in bed with the NCAA,” Barkley said, “it’s time for us, you know we’re doing all this social stuff in the NBA, it’s time for us guys and coaches to say, ‘Yo man, you all got to do a better job.’”
This is the clip, which Twitter user John Gaskins shared:
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 9:52 AM.
