Charles Barkley brutally booed for ‘help homeless’ comment; proceeds to call fans ‘stupid’
Charles Barkley was met with a sea of boo's at All-Star weekend in San Francisco after his serious of comments targeting the city.
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Charles Barkley boo'ed at All-Star weekend in San Francisco
If Charles Barkley thought he’d be greeted warmly in San Francisco, he quickly realized otherwise. During NBA on TNT’s live broadcast from Pier 48 ahead of All-Star Weekend, the crowd made their feelings clear. Every time Chuck spoke, the boos rained down. But that didn’t stop the Chuckster as he tried to make amends for his previous comments about the city. That didn’t go over well either.
For years, Charles Barkley has been outspoken in his criticism of San Francisco, calling out its rising homelessness problem and what he sees as poor city management. On Thursday night, he attempted to soften his stance, clarifying that he actually likes the city but still thinks something needs to be done about the situation on the streets. The crowd, already primed to heckle him, erupted in boos once again. Barkley, never one to let things slide, fired back in classic Chuck fashion.
You know what? I actually like San Francisco, I really do. Honestly, hey, listen. We’ve got to do something about the homeless. They need their help. We’ve got to clean it up a little bit… I said help the homeless, and some of these people are so stupid, they booed.
Charles Barkley said on Inside the NBA
The hostility wasn’t entirely unexpected. Barkley has had a long-running feud with San Francisco, dating back to the mid-2000s when he regularly took shots at the city during playoff broadcasts. Just last month, he even joked that he wouldn’t be attending All-Star Weekend in the Bay. Yet, there he was, front and center, receiving no love from the local fans.
Despite the icy reception, Charles Barkley remains a central figure in this year’s All-Star festivities. The NBA’s revamped format has given the Inside the NBA hosts their own teams, and Barkley’s squad will go head-to-head with rosters captained by Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
Charles Barkley’s All-Star trade gets rejected by Shaquille O’Neal
The new All-Star format is set to bring a new dynamic to this year’s All-Star weekend, and on Thursday night, the Inside Crew tried injecting some extra drama into the mix. Charles Barkley tried his all with an attempted trade between Team Shaq and Team Chuck.
As the panel discussed the recent All-Star replacements, Kyrie Irving and Trae Young stepping in for Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Barkley realized his roster was breaking a pattern. Up until that point, his squad was filled with international players, and now he had an American star in Young.
That’s when Ernie Johnson floated the idea of swapping Young for Irving to keep the theme going in Chuck’s squad. Barkley was on board, immediately pitching the trade to Shaquille O’Neal: Trae Young for Kyrie Irving. Straight up. Shaq, however, wasn’t having it. His reasoning? Experience.
At first, he shut the deal down outright, saying Irving’s veteran presence was too valuable to give up. But then he threw Chuck a single chance.
I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you one chance to do a hell of an ‘ah ah’ and if the fans love it, then I’ll okay the trade.
Shaquille O’Neal asked Charles Barkley
Shaq denied Chuck's proposal for a Kyrie & Trae trade between their #NBAAllStar teams 👀 pic.twitter.com/7pBhT9DRRu
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 14, 2025
Charles Barkley, ever the entertainer, gave it a shot, but the San Francisco crowd clearly was not going to show him any love. Despite his best attempts, the crows remained silent, shutting down the deal between Shaq and him.
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Armaan Gupta
(444 Articles Published)