Charles Barkley Quotes & Sayings

I'm so sick and tired of people in the media telling us that because of the war, sports aren't important. Fans need sports. We'd have only crime and war to watch on TV if not for sports. — Charles Barkley

The main thing to do is relax and let your talent do the work. — Charles Barkley

This is why I hate white people. You guys try to turn everything into a racial issue. — Charles Barkley

We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic. — Charles Barkley

If you are an ugly woman, you have no chance of getting a TV job. — Charles Barkley

I don't hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, barring overtime. — Charles Barkley

Poor people have been voting for big government liberalism for 50 years... and they are still poor. — Charles Barkley

I think anybody who is racist is an idiot whether they are black or white. — Charles Barkley

There's only 5 real jobs in the world. Teacher, fireman, policeman, doctor and somebody who is in the armed service. If you don't have one of those 5 jobs, you shouldn't take your life that serious. — Charles Barkley

I don't believe athletes should be role models ... We're a one-shot deal, one in a million, so we should be the least likely role models ... I think one of the problems in society today is that we don't stress education enough, because we glorify athletes, actors and actresses. — Charles Barkley

One of the worst days of my life was telling Dick Ebersol I was going to TNT. — Charles Barkley

Social media is where losers go to feel important. — Charles Barkley

Christian is going to be the strongest man in the NBA next year, because all he's been doing all summer is carrying around the luggage for 11 guys. — Charles Barkley

I want to be a politician. I think I understand how the system works, I think a lot of politicians are corrupt, and it's about time we put some people in there who are going to look out for the majority of the people instead of the rich people. — Charles Barkley

I think it sucks that in our country [the USA] there is such a double standard education-wise. Which part of the city you live in, or something like that, determines if you'll be successful, and that's not fair. — Charles Barkley

I'm a mad dog whose only concern is winning. — Charles Barkley

It ain't like we're curing cancer or anything, we're watching basketball. — Charles Barkley

When you read the book you see that these guys aren't holding any punches. They're straightforward. They're honest. They're giving you their honest opinion. — Charles Barkley

I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five. — Charles Barkley

Every time I think about changing a diaper, I run a little bit harder and a little bit faster to make sure I can afford a nanny until my daughter's old enough to take care of that herself. — Charles Barkley

Poor people have been voting for Democrats for the last 50 years and they're still poor. — Charles Barkley

I don't listen to the refs. I don't listen to anyone who makes less money than I do. — Charles Barkley

I don't think of myself as giving interviews. I just have conversations. That gets me in trouble. — Charles Barkley

I don't mess with that cat. I'm pretty sure he carries a blade under his jersey. — Charles Barkley

What does politically correct mean? If you're fat, don't ask me if you're fat, because I'm gonna tell you the truth. You're fat. — Charles Barkley

My wife's married. I'm not. — Charles Barkley

I don't worry about playing basketball; that comes natural. I just want to have fun. David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordanthis is like spring break in the ghetto. — Charles Barkley

Yeah Ernie, its called defense, I mean I wouldn't know anything about it personally but I've heard about it through the grapevine. — Charles Barkley

If all babies are so cute, how the hell do we have so many ugly people in the world? — Charles Barkley

Being black or white isn't an accomplishment. What you do with your life - or what you accomplish with your life - dictates what you should be proud of. — Charles Barkley

I played against him (Wilkins) in college. Getting nominated with him, that's pretty cool. — Charles Barkley

The older I get, the faster I was. — Charles Barkley

I'm not a role model ... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids. — Charles Barkley

I'm just what America needs: another unemployed black man. (on his retirement from basketball) — Charles Barkley

My message is simple: take control of your life — Charles Barkley

On his homesickness during the Barcelona Olympics -I miss America. I miss crime and murder. I miss Philadelphia. There hasn't been a brutal stabbing or anything here the last 24 hours. I've missed it. — Charles Barkley

I got pulled over when I was behind the wheel of a Porsche in Philly once for what we call DWB - Driving While Black. — Charles Barkley

If you go out with a girl and they say she has a great personality, she's ugly. If they tell you a guy works hard, he can't play a lick. Same thing. — Charles Barkley

I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. — Charles Barkley

If you can't slam with the best, then jam with the rest — Charles Barkley

You know what I always say about basketball whenever anybody tried to tell me the Knicks are gonna be good: They're old. Old people don't get healthy. They die. — Charles Barkley

All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine. — Charles Barkley

Every team in the Western Conference has flaws. — Charles Barkley

I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I've got a technique. It's called just go get the damn ball. — Charles Barkley

Sometimes I have to criticize guys to try to make it fun, I mean, I'm out there trying to bust other people. I want all these guys to do well, but when they do something stupid or don't play well, I try not to kill 'em, I try to make 'em laugh a little bit. — Charles Barkley

There's nobody you'd rather beat than your good friend. — Charles Barkley

One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check. — Charles Barkley

I think the biggest problem is parents are so concerned with being friends with their kids. You're not their friend. You're their parent. — Charles Barkley

I was asked for years about being a Republican, probably because most black people are Democrats. My mother heard it once and called me and said 'Charles, Republicans are for the rich people.' And I said, 'Mom, I'm rich.' — Charles Barkley

Man, everything gets blamed on the Clintons, every single thing in this world. I think Bill Clinton shot JFK, too. — Charles Barkley

It's kinda great to see the Celtics doin well again cuz that was so much fun in my day to go to the Boston Garden and they spit at you and throw things at you and talk about your mom. It sounds like dinner at Kenny Smith's house. — Charles Barkley

I'm no role model. — Charles Barkley

Listening to a woman is almost as bad as losing to one. There are only three things that women are better at than men: cleaning, cooking, and having sex. — Charles Barkley

America is divided by economics, and we as Americans, we've got to do a better job of supporting poor people. — Charles Barkley

These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it. — Charles Barkley

I was a Republican until they lost their minds — Charles Barkley

Curling is not a sport. I called my grandmother and told her she could win a gold medal because they have dusting in the Olympics now. — Charles Barkley

I don't get into the gun stuff. Some guys have guns who go hunting. Where do we stop (the gun control) at? I'm not a hunter, but we can't say people can't have guns. — Charles Barkley

The most underrated player in NBA history is Dominique Wilkins. Right behind him is Gary Payton. He never has gotten the respect he deserves. If he doesn't spend the rest of his days in Seattle, I hope he goes someplace where he has a chance to win a title. — Charles Barkley

He'll never be Jordan. This clearly takes him out of the conversation. He can win as much as he wants to. — Charles Barkley

They always try to make it like jocks discriminate against gay people. I've been a big proponent of gay marriage for a long time, because as a black person, I can't be in for any form of discrimination at all. — Charles Barkley

What I told [my teammates] after the game was I'm just fortunate [for] my 16 years because, this [injury] can happen every single night you go out and play ... It can be over in one instant, so you should appreciate everyday. — Charles Barkley

I remember sitting down with the Rockets and saying, 'Yeah. I'm going to retire.' They said, 'Well, we'll give you $9 million.' And I said, 'You got a pen on you?' — Charles Barkley

I know I'm never as good or bad as one single performance. I've never believed in my critics or my worshippers, and I've always been able to leave the game at the arena. — Charles Barkley

Adrian Dantley is a guy that I looked at ... on how to maneuver my body around. — Charles Barkley

Hakeem couldn't kick your ass cause you were too close, kissing his! — Charles Barkley

If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming. — Charles Barkley

People say I eat a lot. I really don't. More or less I just eat all the time. — Charles Barkley

Everybody in the world has an ego. The only difference between us is we have a reason to have an ego. — Charles Barkley

I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It. — Charles Barkley

I don't how anybody taller than 6-4 can sit in those seats. And the airline executives don't give a damn 'cause they never walk back there in the first place. I don't fly first class because I have a lot of money. I do it because I need the room. — Charles Barkley

As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states' cities. — Charles Barkley

What I try to do is, I just want the fans to enjoy the game. — Charles Barkley

But when I see a story on welfare on television, they only show black people. — Charles Barkley

Just because you say something doesn't make it controversial, and it doesn't make you a bad person. — Charles Barkley

On game days, I could be in the worst mood imagiable-a really bad mood. But sometimes, I'd get a call from the Make-A-Wish Foundation-there would be people, sometimes kids, who anted to meet me before they died. And the foundation would call on a game day and say, "There's kid dying here whose last wish is to see you. Can you just come and see him?" I'd get there and sometimes the kid would be comatose. One day, a kid woke up for a split second and smiled at me. I was told he'd been hanging on. The mom and dad called me later and said, "I don't know what yu did to him, but those few moments were wonderful." And I cried all the way to the game, just cried my eyes out.
It's very scary. It's uplifting, too, but so scary. And then ... I'm bitching because my breakfast is cold? — Charles Barkley

I never would say a player stinks. Ever. I'll tell you their team stinks, and first of all, they know their team stinks. And the fans know their team stinks. — Charles Barkley

I know a lot of people did a lot of heavy lifting to make me successful and I do everything in my power not to screw it up. — Charles Barkley

I don't know what that gas is made of, but it can't smell any worse than Ernie Johnson 's gym bag. — Charles Barkley

I'm never embarassed. — Charles Barkley

I don't care what people think. people are stupid. — Charles Barkley

If you're scarde to fail, you don't deserve to be successful. — Charles Barkley

I do not use words like liberal or conservative. You can ask me a question and I will give you an answer. Those are words rich people on television use to divide and conquer. — Charles Barkley

If ifs were gifts, every day would be Christmas. — Charles Barkley

Preseason is just a way to screw fans out of money. — Charles Barkley

Those Grizzlies are more like pandas. — Charles Barkley

Stevie Wonder could make one of 23 shots. - On North Carolina missing 22 of its last 23 shots in losing to Georgetown in the NCAA tournament. — Charles Barkley

If a guy drew a charge on me, I tried to kick him in the balls. — Charles Barkley

People always say he can run and he can jump. So can a deer and you wouldn't put a deer in the game. — Charles Barkley

If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them. — Charles Barkley

Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn't eaten in a while. — Charles Barkley

Everybody in New York thinks the Knicks are Playboy bunnies, and I have been telling them for years the Knicks are a rabbit. They're closer to a Playboy bunny this year but for the last few years these guys are like, 'We have a really good team!' And I say, 'You really think that?' And I say, 'No, they don't.' But this is the best team they've had in a while. — Charles Barkley

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. — Charles Barkley

Poor white people and poor black people just don't know how much they have in common. Rich people don't give a damn about either group. — Charles Barkley

It's the kind of game that makes you go home and beat your wife. — Charles Barkley

There's no medical term for what I've got. — Charles Barkley

Every time I hear the word conservative it makes me sick to my stomach ... — Charles Barkley

White folks are not going to come to see a bunch of guys with tattoos, with cornrows. I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks different, they're stupid. — Charles Barkley

We don't need refs, but I guess white guys need something to do. — Charles Barkley

My family got all over me because they said Bush is only for the rich people. Then I reminded them, 'Hey, I'm rich'. — Charles Barkley