During his tribute to gay NBA player Jason Collins, ESPN commentator and former NBA star Charles Barkley insisted that America’s “homophobic society” makes gay athletes afraid to come out in public.
Collins, who came out as gay in 2013 just before retiring from pro basketball, died Tuesday at age 47 from Stage 4 glioblastoma.
After the news broke of Collins’ death, Barkley went on the air to deliver a tribute to Collins as a “courageous” man for admitting to the world that he was gay, and called Collins a “shining example.”
“Courageous, and when he came out, man, I thought it was amazing to put himself under the microscope and the scrutiny and the hatred and the vitriol that was going to happen,” Barkley said.
But Barkley also insisted that there are many more gay athletes who are afraid to come out publicly as gay because the U.S. is still wildly “homophobic.”
“If another guy did it, it would still be a big deal because we live in a homophobic society,” Barkley said Tuesday. “And that’s unfortunate. Anybody who thinks we ain’t got a bunch of gay players in all sports, they’re just stupid.”
“There is such animosity toward the gay community, and that’s what’s really unfortunate. But anybody that think him coming — I know a couple of other soccer players that came out — if you think there are not more gay players in the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NBA, you’re just stupid.”
It is not easy to square Barkley’s claims with reality. Just in basketball alone, nearly the whole of the WNBA is filled with proudly public lesbians. Most other sports also honor gays with special nights and millions in funding for gay causes. Schools routinely celebrate homosexuality, and gay characters fill our stages, TVs, and movie screens. And nary an institution in the country has any rules against gays anymore.
So, for Barkley to claim that gays are afraid to come out in today’s America does not quite ring true.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston