Charles Barkley has an avowed hatred of social media, and he expanded on why a bit on Saturday.
Barkley was part of the pregame coverage for Saturday’s March Madness action, and the topic of discussion turned to the abusive tweets sent to Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell following the Buckeyes’ loss to Oral Roberts on Friday. Barkley cited the treatment of Liddell as one reason he has no interest in tweeting himself.
Charles Barkley on EJ Liddell harassment from fans on Instagram “I’m never gonna dignify these losers and interact with them ever, I don’t care how much money some offers me, I’ll never do social media because of this” pic.twitter.com/fCpgC0O12f
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 20, 2021
“These guys give me a hard time because I refuse and will never do any type of social media. This is the reason why,” Barkley said. “For you to give this kid death threats and hurl racial slurs at him because you’re safe in your own home like a coward behind a computer and nobody knows who you are. You need to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror.
“I am never going to be able to dignify these losers and interact with them ever. I don’t care how much money somebody offers me, I’m never going to do social media because of this. Barkley said on Saturday when discussing the messages Liddell received this week.”
Barkley’s position is completely defensible. Sure, a lot of people would probably love the chance to interact with him on social media. On the other hand, as a well-known figure, he’d also likely have to deal with a lot of nonsense and hate on the platform.
Barkley has demonstrated just how dug in he is when it comes to avoiding social media. This is just a reminder of that seriousness.
