Charles Barkley, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and TNT analyst for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, appeared on The Dan Patrick Show this week.^[1][2] The discussion covered the ongoing March Madness tournament and speculation about fellow TNT analyst Kenny Smith, a former University of North Carolina player, interviewing for the Tar Heels' head coaching position.^[1][3]

Barkley shifted to concerns about modern athletes, stating, "You can't even yell at them anymore."^[1] He linked the issue to parenting, asserting, "People talking about you can’t yell at your kids. Yes, hell you can yell at your kids. You’ll whoop their a-- too… That's why these kids are crazy."^[1]

Barkley, who played 16 NBA seasons primarily with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets from 1984 to 2000, emphasized discipline while clarifying limits.^[2] "I’m not going around telling people to beat their kids, but I think if you don’t spank your kids and discipline them, they turn into some of these brats that we got today," he said. "I’m not here for child abuse, but how are kids gonna know they’re doing something wrong? First of all, you can’t rationalize with kids, they’re dumber than rocks."^[1]

He dismissed potential criticism, adding, "You can blast me on social media. You guys know I don’t do social media. I don’t ever read any comments. I don’t care what you think. Y’all can kiss my big Black a--. I’m gonna say what I gotta say. Some of y’all gonna like it and some of y’all not. And y’all will get over it."^[1]

Sources

1. Fox News. "Charles Barkley says you can 'whoop their a--,' calls today's kids 'dumber than rocks'." 26 March 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/charles-barkley-says-whoop-kids-calls-todays-dumber-rocks
2. NBA.com. "Charles Barkley Player Profile." Accessed 28 March 2024. https://www.nba.com/player/761/charles-barkley
3. DanPatrick.com. "Dan Patrick Show Episodes." Accessed 28 March 2024. https://www.danpatrick.com/show-archive/