Charles Barkley had some definitive words to say during his appearance on The Dan Patrick Radio Show when asked whether he'd ever played with a gay teammate. The NBA Hall-of-Famer and current studio pundit told Patrick, "yeah, of course I did," before going into depth about the discussions he had with allegedly gay teammates during his 16 years in the league.
"Everybody played with a gay teammate, Dan. And it's no big deal. First of all, I think it's an insult to gay people to think that they're trying to pick up on their teammates. But everybody has played with a gay teammate... It's obviously discussed, privately, because the problem is, Dan, unless somebody tells you they're gay, you can't say a thing about them being gay. Ya know, until somebody has the courage, and I think it takes great courage to come out, it's kind of an unspoken word to be honest with you."
Barkley's comments come in the wake of Washington Wizard's center Jason Collins' recent revelation that he is gay, making him the first athlete in the four major sports leagues -- NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL -- to come out of the closet. Collins' announcement in a self-penned article for Sports Illustrated that went live on the magazine's website last week has been met largely with support from the sports world, including NBA Commissioner David Stern, fellow NBA star Kobe Bryant, former tennis great Martina Navratilova, and now Barkley.
Although he would not name names, Barkley also revealed that during his time in the NBA between 1984 and 2000, he had multiple discussions with teammates about their sexual orientation. "I had several teammates, I probably had three guys I played with in my 16 years."
Barkley went on to say that he believes until people come out, their private lives are no one's business, but his admission regarding what is discussed in the locker room does beg the question will more pro sports players go on to follow Collins' example?
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