Charles Barkley has no issue with LeBron James hating Memphis, he has an issue with Stephen A. Smith and others making it about race.
Earlier this month, James faced criticism for shading Memphis and Milwaukee during an appearance with Bob Does Sports. James said most NBA stars agree the Grizzlies should move to Nashville, adding that he has no desire to stay at a Hyatt in Memphis on random weeknight during the regular-season.
The comments sparked a firestorm, with Stephen A. Smith joining the chorus of critics calling James out for his opinion on Memphis. Ironically, Smith made similar comments about Memphis last year, claiming to know NBA stars aren’t comfortable playing in the city. But when James echoed the sentiment, Smith accused him of being insensitive for mocking a city with a large Black community while on a show hosted by white content creators. And according to Barkley, that pivot to race by Smith and others was uncalled for.
“LeBron said he didn’t like Memphis or Milwaukee. And for some reason, everybody went crazy on the Memphis part because then they turned it into race, which is the best way to get idiots and fools talking about anything,” Barkley told Ernie Johnson on the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast. “Every loser in the world wants to be racist. And Stephen A. jumped in, Jason Whitlock jumped in, Cam Newton jumped in, Ryan Clark jumped in, and Matt Barnes dropped in. Oh, these are all brothers. Yo, man. What the f*ck are you all doing, man? LeBron don’t like Memphis. Okay!”
Barkley said he gets why the “idiots and fools” on the internet would gaslight James’ comments about Memphis for attention. But Barkley didn’t understand why people who already have large platforms would bother making James’ Memphis comments about race for clicks.
“LeBron said something about Memphis and the world took over, they made it about race, which is what anybody does when they want to stir up controversy. Y’all are successful!” Barkley continued. “Stephen A., you’re one of the most successful people we have in television. Come on, man. Y’all got to do better, man.”
Ernie Johnson noted this is just the way modern sports media and TV operates, with every show seeking topics to be outraged over because they have too much time to fill. Barkley, however, argued against making anything personal, which he alleged James’ critics did.
If Smith spent recent years defending Memphis and the Grizzlies, he may have had a point when calling James out. But when Smith ripped Memphis as an NBA city last year, it was blatantly hypocritical of him to turn around and accuse James of abandoning the city’s Black community by sharing similar complaints.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com