Charles Barkley went to town like usual when breaking down the overweight (in his opinion) women of San Antonio during “Inside the NBA” on TNT Tuesday.
The comments came before Game 1 of the Spurs’ series with the Portland Trail Blazers, a series in which Chuck picked the Blazers to win because he doesn’t believe in San Antonio’s “old guys.”
After Chuck gave his pick, one of the guys on the set wound him up by asking him for his opinion on San Antonio women. That question just opened the flood gates for jokes that Chuck has used over the years, and he brought them all back up. And now he’s facing the music.
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance wants Chuck to apologize for his comments, which included saying there are some “big ‘ol women” in San Antonio and that it’s a “gold mine for Weight Watchers,” for whom he is a spokesperson.
“Making slurs about body size is just as offensive as making comments about body color,” spokesperson Peggy Howell told TMZ Sports. “One would think being a black man, he’d be more sensitive to having his physical body criticized. It’s totally out of line. He should absolutely apologize.”
In addition to the Fat Acceptance group, the President of the Obesity Action Coalition issued a statement about being disappointed with Barkley.
“As a former NBA player and sports entertainment figure, Mr. Barkley should encourage equality and respect among society and not look to shame or segment one population because of their size. Obesity is a serious medical condition and not a joking matter.”
Welp, I bet Barkley, who is no slim jim himself, never thought he’d be the target of some fat groups’ anger. The truth is Chuck is probably laughing over all of this. This is just pure comedy to him.
And if that was Kenny Smith who teed him up, he knew exactly what he was doing!
