"Probably had three guys I played with" - Charles Barkley once discussed the likelihood of having gay teammates in the NBA 

NBA legend Charles Barkley shared his thoughts on gay athletes in professional sports when he made an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Radio Show" on May 7, 2013. Barkley, who played in the NBA from 1984 to 2000, acknowledged that he had gay teammates during his career.

Furthermore, when asked by Patrick if he had any teammates who confided in him about coming out, Barkley went on to provide an insight into his team’s locker room. Chuck however noted that certain topics are not discussed openly among teammates.

"I had several teammates (who were gay). I probably had three guys (who were gay) I played with in my 16 years," Charles Barkley said. "But like I say, think about Jason Collins, he played on six teams, so six teams played with a gay guy.

"And so, everybody has played with a gay guy, you just didn't know he was a gay guy. Cause until a gay guy comes out, it's none of your business." (Start from 10:12)

Charles Barkley also referenced a quote from former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. The baseball player had said that he didn't think about Collins' personal life before or after he came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated article.

Barkley seemed to echo Schilling's sentiment, as he implied that a player's sexual orientation wasn’t any of his business.

Barkley’s time in the league saw him win the MVP award in 1993. Known for his rebounding skills, the fifth pick of the 1984 NBA draft played for three teams, the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. He retired after the 1999-2000 season.

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Charles Barkley opens up on feeling about being kept in the dark by TNT

Charles Barkley on a Dec. 3, 2024 episode of the "Come And Talk 2 Me" podcast opened up to the situation regarding ESPN allowing 'Inside the NBA' to be hosted on their channels. He wasn't particularly pleased that he was kept in the dark but had to learn about the changes via sources outside.

"I'm not happy with that, I'm not gonna lie," Barkley said. "I have not been happy with our administration for a long time … I thought TNT handled it poorly; they never gave us an update, and we had to learn about all the crap through reading the articles." (Start from 9:21.)

The 2025-26 season will see TNT lose its rights as media partners of the NBA. The rights will be given to NBC and Amazon Prime. However, 'Inside the NBA' will still hang on after ESPN agreed a deal with TNT to broadcast the show.