Charles Barkley Says He's Played With Gay Teammates
With the news of Jason Collins coming out, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley's call in appearance on The Dan Patrick Show last night revealed that he believes every NBA player has played with a gay teammate at some point in their careers.
"Everybody's played with a gay teammate in their career, and it's no big deal Dan," Barkley told the radio host.
Patrick's follow up questions to that statement, "How does it work, you know it, they know it, is it discussed, is it kept a secret?"
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"Well it's obviously discussed privately because the problem is, unless somebody tell you they're gay, you can't say something about them being gay," Barkely said. "I probably had 3 or 4 guys I played with in 16 years."
With Jason Collins having played on six teams in his career, the possibilities of every NBA athlete playing with a gay teammate is no stretch.
"Until somebody has the courage...it's kind of an unspoken word," said Barkley. "Until a gay guy comes out, it's none of your business."
A popular sports personality, Barkley is very outspoken on many issues concerning the NBA and it's players. He recently stated on TNT that as an African-American he has to be tolerant and supportive of all ways of life because of the struggles of all those before him.
While showing his support for Jason Collins, Barkely also stood up for those who are against the gay lifestyle, like ESPN commentator Chris Broussard saying on Inside the NBA, "Some people [are] not going to like this. I think they should have the right to express that. We should not crucify them. I disagree with them, and it's alright to disagree. But we live in this thing right now that anyone who comes out against this is going to be crucified and I think that's unfair."
