Outspoken NBA legend Charles Barkley stirred the pot as soon as once more along with his decades-long feud with San Antonio, refusing to again down from his infamous feedback in regards to the metropolis’s ladies throughout his look on the March Insanity competition.
The 62-year-old Corridor of Famer took the stage on Sunday, April 6, simply in the future after his alma mater, Auburn, misplaced its Remaining 4 matchup towards Florida — which went on to win the nationwide championship with a 65-63 victory over Houston Monday evening — and wasted no time reigniting the controversy that has outlined his relationship with the Texas metropolis.
Regardless of dealing with a blended reception of boos and laughter from the group, Barkley remained unfazed as he continued the operating joke that has concurrently entertained and offended San Antonio residents for practically 20 years.
The basketball legend softened the preliminary unfavourable response by praising San Antonio as a “nice metropolis” and expressing his admiration for Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and the workforce, earlier than launching proper again into his controversial remarks.
“Sure, y’all obtained some large b—ches right here,” Barkley declared to the group, including one other chapter to what has turn out to be considered one of sports activities media’s most persistent punchlines.
The response on TikTok was as divided because the reside viewers.
Charles Barkley on Stage in San Antonio😂😂
“San Antonio…..Sure, y’all do obtained some large ole b*itches” pic.twitter.com/NSJEbBCCfX
— Charlie Reynolds (@creynolds1563) April 7, 2025
Many locals appeared to take the joke in stride, with one TikTok commenter writing, “You possibly can name him all the things besides a liar.”
One other San Antonio native agreed, commenting, “He’s not incorrect and I’m a local. There are some large b—ches right here.”
Others admired his stick-to-it-ness, with one particular person noting, “Double down??? He’s quadruple to the third powered down now,” whereas one other added, “He doesn’t again down you need to respect that.”
Nonetheless, not everybody discovered the humor in Barkley’s repeated jabs.
Some commenters pushed again towards the sexist undertones, with one particular person writing, “It’s such a silly misogynistic phrase,” earlier than criticizing those that laughed alongside, including, “Half their mothers seem like these ladies they’re speaking about.”
The feud dates again nearly 20 years when Barkley first made feedback in regards to the “large ol’ ladies down in San Antonio” whereas discussing the Spurs on “Contained in the NBA.”
Since then, he has continued to reference the joke, evaluating “skinny Houston ladies” to “big-ass ladies in San Antonio” in 2019, and in 2021 remarking that San Antonio ladies couldn’t match by doorways, in response to brobible.com.
His jokes prolonged past private appearances when he as soon as claimed he would open up a meals truck and get wealthy, implying San Antonio ladies would purchase up all his meals.
He even known as the town’s common River Stroll a “soiled, little creek” in March 2023 whereas discussing Victor Wembanyama’s potential draft to the Spurs, MySan Antonio.com reported.
The backlash has been substantial over time.
Tim Duncan’s girlfriend famously responded by sporting a shirt studying “Barkley Don’t Know,” a development that caught on with many native ladies.
The pushback intensified in 2015 when Abby Lentz printed a four-page article by the Weight problems Motion Coalition condemning Barkley’s discriminatory feedback.
Within the article, titled “Basketball, Barkley and Fats Bashing,” she mentioned, “I felt like I used to be again in junior excessive once more.”
By 2021, the strain had mounted to the purpose that Warner Bros. reportedly requested Barkley to cease making these jokes on “Contained in the NBA.” Barkley blamed “cancel tradition” for the ban, telling reporters, “You possibly can’t even have enjoyable these days with out these jackasses making an attempt to get you canceled and issues like that.”
He defended himself by saying, “I didn’t name anyone personally fats in San Antonio, I used to be simply joking round.”
When Auburn heart Dylan Cardwell arrived in San Antonio for the Remaining 4, he playfully commented that he “had not seen any of the ladies that Charles Barkley was speaking about.”
After arriving in San Antonio, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl informed gamers to get out on the River Stroll and expertise San Antonio and “get pleasure from what they’ve earned”
Auburn heart Dylan Cardwell has shortly embraced the Alamo Metropolis 😂 pic.twitter.com/V9pEGWnxXA
— Zack Hedrick (@zhedrickTV) April 3, 2025
Regardless of dealing with criticism, requires cancellation, and formal requests to cease, Barkley’s return to San Antonio for the Remaining 4 demonstrates his unwillingness to desert what has turn out to be his signature bit.
On April 8, NBA on TNT shared a clip of Barkley collaborating within the viral “Pop the Balloon” relationship recreation, the place singles try and snag a date with one fortunate suitor. Nonetheless, in the event that they don’t like what they see or hear, they pop their balloon to excuse themselves from the sport. As Barkley participated within the recreation in San Antonio, there’s little doubt that he was not going to have a lot luck with the women.
The ladies had quite a few causes they turned down an opportunity at love with Barkley, together with the actual fact he likes to “wolf down” churros and that he lacks muscle groups. “You don’t even have any rings,” quipped one contestant.
As one commentator aptly noticed, at this level there seems to be no stopping Barkley.
The extra pushback he receives from the ladies of San Antonio, the extra decided he appears to turn out to be to perpetuate his controversial joke — a testomony to his unapologetic strategy to comedy, which continues to divide audiences alongside the strains of humor and sensitivity in an period more and more outlined by evolving requirements of acceptable public discourse.
