Will Charles Barkley's Swipe at San Francisco Anger Liberals?

I didn’t watch the NBA All-Star game. The Eastern Conference team beat the West 211-186, but the commentary during this game was another issue. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was quite outspoken about the site of next year’s venue, San Francisco, where he noted the rising crime and mayhem that’s engulfed the city.  

He offered former Indiana Pacer and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller a ‘would you rather’ scenario concerning Indianapolis and San Fran, which included a funny swipe directed at the Baghdad of the Bay, which is fitting since the city has become as safe as the Iraqi capital circa 2006. Barkley noted how the Bay Area has become infested with homeless crooks (via Fox KTVU): 

Charles Barkley saying San Francisco is full of homeless crooks was probably the best moment of the NBA All Star Game. pic.twitter.com/xwdfz4HARr

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 19, 2024

NBA legend Charles Barkley ripped into San Francisco Sunday night during a broadcast – not his first time trashing The City.  

Barkley was speaking with polarizing Warriors forward Draymond Green and ex-Pacers star Reggie Miller, now an NBA analyst as well, on TNT’s alternate broadcast during the NBA All-Star game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana. 

During the broadcast, Green said, "Hey Reggie we love you, let’s not have another All-Star [game] in Indiana. Let’s let this be the last one, my friend." 

Barkley didn't take too long to blast San Francisco, where Green plays at the Chase Center.  

"Hey Reggie," Barkley said. "If you had a chance of being in the cold, or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?" 

"You can’t even walk around down there," Barkley added. 

Green defended The City. And the other hosts are also heard saying: "Oh, we love San Francisco."  

Green answered definitively, "Yes, you can walk around,"  

But Barkley quipped: "Yeah, with a bulletproof vest."

This ribbing isn’t the only time Barkley has gone after the city. He lamented sarcastically how it wasn’t raining in San Francisco to clean up the dirty streets during game four of the 2022 Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors. There was a weather delay in Dallas as the roof of the American Airlines Center started to leak.  

San Antonio got targeted by the NBA star years ago for having some ‘big ole’ women’ who like to eat churros:

On San Francisco, show me where Barkley is wrong. A TikTok influencer trying to check out the city’s food scene had to cut his trip early due to the unsafe areas he was visiting.