Charles Barkley: "I'm Supposed To Stand Up For The People Who Can't Stand Up For Themselves"

North Carolina passed a pretty hateful anti-LGBT law a few weeks ago that repealed a wave of tolerance-based legislation across the state, much of which began in Charlotte. The 2017 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled to take place in Charlotte, but the league has warned that the new law runs counter to their principles, and they said that they “do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.”

While North Carolina’s most famous native NBA star Steph Curry has been, let’s say, discerning in his public comments on the law, Charles Barkley did an interview with CNN on the subject and laid down some truly righteous takes on the matter. Barkley, who famously declared that he was not a role model and doesn’t always have the most informed opinions, even said that CNN was “awful” a few months back, but he really opened up to them today:

I think the NBA should move the All-Star game from there next year. As a black person, I’m against any form of discrimination – against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it. It’s my job, with the position of power that I’m in and being able to be on television, I’m supposed to stand up for the people who can’t stand up for themselves. So, I think the NBA should move the All-Star game from Charlotte.

You can watch his full interview here, in which he strongly agrees with Hamilton about economic inequality:

The NBA threatening to pass on Charlotte for the All-Star Game is one thing, but a condemnation from someone of Barkley’s stature is a good follow up. It’s impossible to know precisely what effect the NFL threatening not to let Atlanta host a Super Bowl had on a similar bill that Georgia’s legislature approved, but Georgia Governor Nathan Deal did veto it when it reached his desk last month.