Charles Barkley had a lot to say about a lot of subjects on his 60 Minutes interview this weekend, which should surprise exactly no one.
When asked what he thought about the sport, he called it “a travesty and a disgrace,” because “we can’t play all these players.”
Why? Because he thinks there will be 25 programs that will “dominate” the sports because they can afford to pay up.
This comes days after Barkley responded to NCAA president Charlie Baker, who wanted “the folks in Washington” to regulate NIL deals. The Hall of Famer said, “I would put a committee together … get some coaches, get some players, and let’s try to work this thing out.”
Charles Barkley thinks college players getting paid is ruining college basketball pic.twitter.com/vmdE9JnX5L
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 27, 2023
There was some debate about his comments on Twitter:
Charles Barkley hates the NIL. Come on man, you know these schools have paying players for years. It’s just legal now.
— Snoop Joshy Josh (@JoshMarino420) March 27, 2023
Interesting to hear Charles Barkley complain about NIL. This, from a guy who practically brags about the cheating in the SEC when he played and once offered Dirk Nowitzki, money to go to Auburn. So it’s OK for athletes to get paid under the table but not over it?
— Mark Montieth (@MarkMontieth) March 27, 2023
Charles Barkley said it best last night on 60 Minutes: The Transfer Portal and the NIL will leave the wealthiest 25 colleges in power, so we should enjoy this year's March Madness while we can.
— PeltzBoxing (@PeltzBoxing) March 27, 2023
Charles Barkley is wrong. He stated CBB will be dominated by teams that can pay the most in NIL. Those players are freshmen and won't stay multiple years. We see Upper classmen who play as a team beating blue chippers.
evidence: No top 3 seed in the final four— Obscure Former Reds (@ObscureExReds) March 27, 2023
Charles Barkley is right about NIL & payments. I don’t have a problem with players getting paid. The system right now is out of hand & if you’re a fan of a smaller program, they’re going to have a tough time competing. There’s no doubt about it
— ~𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙯~ (@ewhigham) March 27, 2023