Charles Barkley: ‘I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play’

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Charles Barkley gives an awesome interview to Mike Wise of the Washington Post, reacting to the news that Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts is gay. Barkley said he has played with gay players while he was in the NBA and their presence had zero negative impact. All he cared about was whether a guy could play or not.

“I really like ESPN,” Barkley added. “They do a great job. But like once every two or three months, they bring all these people on there, and they tell me how me and my team are going to respond to a gay guy.

“First of all, every player has played with gay guys. It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say, ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”

Barkley said that it was common for other players to gossip about who was gay, saying it was human nature, and adding that it was “them bible thumpers, who are supposed to be non-judgmental, who rail against them.”

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2011/05/17/charles-barkley-i%E2%80%99d-rather-have-a-gay-guy-who-can-play-than-a-straight-guy-who-can%E2%80%99t-play/

It's worth it to read the whole article.

[Drale]

1. He also said the Heat are a bunch of whiners

:rofl:

[rfranklin]

2. There you are...Barkley likes to play with gay guys...

what does that make him?

[Bucky]

3. I wonder what he means by "have"

I keed, I keed!

[taterguy]

4. “Man, we need to outlaw guys who suck at sports.”

I love Charles

[Snoutport]

5. Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Charles Barkley!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. No need to thank me, I'm just a lowly messenger.

Charles Barkley deserves all the thanks. He's the awesome one here. :D

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Meritocracy...it really does matter

[Pisces]

7. I love Charles Barkley!!!

[MurrayDelph]

8. Why, Mr. Barkley,

you have unexpected depth.

[Blue_Tires]

9. I remember this wonderfully ironic account by former NBA player John Amaechi

...The NBA locker room was the most flamboyant place I'd ever been. Guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged about sexual exploits. They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful. They tried on each other's $10,000 suits, admired each other's rings and necklaces. It was an intense camaraderie that felt completely natural to them. Surveying the room, I couldn't help chuckling to myself: And I'm the gay one.

Homosexuality is an obsession among ballplayers, trailing only wealth and women. The guys I played with just didn't like "fags" -- or so they insisted over and over again. But they didn't understand fags enough to truly loathe them. Most were convinced, even as they sat next to me on the plane or threw me the ball in the post, that they had never met one.

Over time, I realized their antigay prejudice was more a convention of a particular brand of masculinity. Homophobia is a ballplayer posture, akin to donning a "game face," wearing flashy jewelry or driving the perfect black Escalade.

One night, as the team bus pulled into a West Coast city, I noticed a huge billboard towering over the road: "SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS GAY." The minute I spotted it, I pulled off my headphones. I wanted to hear what the boys would come up with. Sure enough, a cacophony of shock and horror poured forth...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=espnmag/amaechi

Well worth the read...

[Blue_Tires]

10. ttt

[musiclawyer]

12. Good

But we need active players in all sports coming out and saying the same thing.