Charles Barkley doesn’t want Auburn to need a new men’s basketball coach, but he supports Bruce Pearl leaving the program if it means running for U.S. Senate.
In recent months, speculation has built about the possibility of Pearl entering the race as a Republican to replace Tommy Tuberville, who previously announced his run for governor. Pearl has not acknowledged being interested in running for Senate, but he hasn’t denied it either.
Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach, has already stated he doesn’t want Pearl to fill his Senate seat because college basketball and Auburn needs him. Luckily for Tuberville, college football didn’t feel the same way about him.
While Barkley similarly knows losing Pearl would be a big hit for Auburn’s basketball program, he recently told Roy S. Johnson of AL.com that he would support the decision.
“I respect and trust him. I just told him to do what he wants to do,” Barkley told Johnson of Pearl’s potential political interests this week. “Obviously, he’s made Auburn basketball relevant, which makes me happy. I said, ‘Hey, man, as much as I love you being the head basketball coach at Auburn, you taking Auburn to two Final Fours, something I never thought would happen, but I do understand.’ If he wants to run, I’m gonna support him 100%.”
Barkley has been a staunch critic of Donald Trump. Pearl, however, has shown himself to be Trump supporter on social media, which is why most people anticipate any potential political future would come as a Republican. But even though Barkley supported Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election, he won’t let that sway his potential support of Pearl.
“I’m not a Trump guy, but it’s not up to me to tell people they can’t vote for Trump,” Barkley told AL.com. “I don’t know who voted for Trump in my circle, but I’m pretty sure some of them did. I publicly supported Kamala [Harris] and had her husband on my podcast, and so I’m a Kamala guy, but I’m not stupid enough to think some of my rich friends didn’t vote for Trump. I’m not that stupid.”
Interestingly, it’s Pearl’s past support of Democrats that might prevent him from running. According to AL.com, there is an Alabama Republican Party prohibition on donations to candidates from opposing parties. In 2024, Pearl gave political donations to Shomari Figures, the Democratic nominee who won in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. Pearl also donated to North Carolina Democrat Ron Davis. Figures and Davis have both spoken out in support of Israel, which Pearl has passionately advocated for.
It’s been nearly two decades since Barkley, himself, considered running for office in Alabama. And while the idea of Barkley entering politics at this stage of his life seems more remote than ever, it won’t stop him from supporting Pearl, whether that’s as head coach of Auburn or running for U.S. Senate.