Top 100 Charles Barkley Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “People always say he can run and he can jump. So can a deer and you wouldn’t put a deer in the game.”

— Charles Barkley

52. “On his homesickness during the Barcelona Olympics -I miss America. I miss crime and murder. I miss Philadelphia. There hasn’t been a brutal stabbing or anything here the last 24 hours. I’ve missed it.”

— Charles Barkley

53. “When you’re black, you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people. It’s a dirty, dark secret; I’m glad it’s coming out.”

— Charles Barkley

54. “All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine.”

— Charles Barkley

55. “I’m a mad dog whose only concern is winning.”

— Charles Barkley

56. “Being black or white isn’t an accomplishment. What you do with your life – or what you accomplish with your life – dictates what you should be proud of.”

— Charles Barkley

57. “What does politically correct mean? If you’re fat, don’t ask me if you’re fat, because I’m gonna tell you the truth. You’re fat.”

— Charles Barkley

58. “I’m so sick and tired of people in the media telling us that because of the war, sports aren’t important. Fans need sports. We’d have only crime and war to watch on TV if not for sports.”

— Charles Barkley

59. “You know what I always say about basketball whenever anybody tried to tell me the Knicks are gonna be good: They’re old. Old people don’t get healthy. They die.”

— Charles Barkley

60. “If a guy drew a charge on me, I tried to kick him in the balls.”

— Charles Barkley

61. “America is divided by economics, and we as Americans, we’ve got to do a better job of supporting poor people.”

— Charles Barkley

62. “I don’t have time to put up with the politics. Who’s a Democrat? Who’s a Republican? Who’s liberal? Who’s conservative? Man, can my daughter just go to a school and not get killed? Can these people get a good job? That’s what I’m concerned about.”

— Charles Barkley

63. “I just wish all these young black kids would realize how significant it is to stop acting a fool out there, killing each other, not getting their education. You know, people have died to put us in a situation to be successful.”

— Charles Barkley

64. “It’s kinda great to see the Celtics doin well again cuz that was so much fun in my day to go to the Boston Garden and they spit at you and throw things at you and talk about your mom. It sounds like dinner at Kenny Smith’s house.”

— Charles Barkley

65. “I didnt wear the pink panties because I didnt want America going crazy with excitement.”

— Charles Barkley

66. “You think your parents are a pain in the ass now, but they’re going to get smarter as you get older.”

— Charles Barkley

67. “You know what’s amazing to me? America. There have been so many people who have stepped up, and I’m just proud to be an American. Yeah, there were some mistakes made, but I don’t play the blame game. Let’s move forward and rebuild New Orleans.”

— Charles Barkley

68. “Man, everything gets blamed on the Clintons, every single thing in this world. I think Bill Clinton shot JFK, too.”

— Charles Barkley

69. “Kids are great. That’s one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet. It’s a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names.”

— Charles Barkley

70. “I remember sitting down with the Rockets and saying, ‘Yeah. I’m going to retire.’ They said, ‘Well, we’ll give you $9 million.’ And I said, ‘You got a pen on you?’”

— Charles Barkley

71. “Every time I hear the word conservative it makes me sick to my stomach...”

— Charles Barkley

72. “Hakeem couldn’t kick your ass cause you were too close, kissing his!”

— Charles Barkley

73. “I want to be a politician. I think I understand how the system works, I think a lot of politicians are corrupt, and it’s about time we put some people in there who are going to look out for the majority of the people instead of the rich people.”

— Charles Barkley

74. “I’m still going to Disney World.”

— Charles Barkley

75. “They don’t let many black people in the governor’s mansion in Alabama, unless they’re cleaning.”

— Charles Barkley

76. “Poor white people and poor black people just don’t know how much they have in common. Rich people don’t give a damn about either group.”

— Charles Barkley

77. “When I speak to kids I tell them, ‘Hey, you think your parents are a pain in the ass now, but they’re going to get smarter as you get older.’”

— Charles Barkley

78. “I came to the realization a couple months ago that I am fat. If you get tired from walking – and that’s all that golf is – then you are officially fat.”

— Charles Barkley

79. “We’re not all supposed to think alike.”

— Charles Barkley

80. “If you are an ugly woman, you have no chance of getting a TV job.”

— Charles Barkley

81. “Thank God for Jerry Springer’s show. I thought only black folks were that screwed up until I watched Jerry Springer.”

— Charles Barkley

82. “Christian is going to be the strongest man in the NBA next year, because all he’s been doing all summer is carrying around the luggage for 11 guys.”

— Charles Barkley

83. “We don’t need refs, but I guess white guys need something to do.”

— Charles Barkley

84. “White folks are not going to come to see a bunch of guys with tattoos, with cornrows. I’m sorry, but anyone who thinks different, they’re stupid.”

— Charles Barkley

85. “I got pulled over when I was behind the wheel of a Porsche in Philly once for what we call DWB – Driving While Black.”

— Charles Barkley

86. “I was a Republican until they lost their minds.”

— Charles Barkley

87. “Say, Cuttino. What are those Godawful clothes you’re wearing? Man, this ain’t Rhode Island anymore. You’re in the NBA. The girls have teeth here.”

— Charles Barkley

88. “It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”

— Charles Barkley

89. “Anytime a fan touches you, you have the right to beat the hell out of him.”

— Charles Barkley

90. “I believe ghosts are like dogs and they just sort of do things arbitrarily.”

— Charles Barkley

91. “I have nothing against old people; I want to be one myself one day.”

— Charles Barkley

92. “When you read the book you see that these guys aren’t holding any punches. They’re straightforward. They’re honest. They’re giving you their honest opinion.”

— Charles Barkley

93. “You can talk without saying a thing. I don’t ever want to be that type of person.”

— Charles Barkley

94. “People say I eat a lot. I really don’t. More or less I just eat all the time.”

— Charles Barkley

95. “There’s nobody you’d rather beat than your good friend.”

— Charles Barkley

96. “I do not use words like liberal or conservative. You can ask me a question and I will give you an answer. Those are words rich people on television use to divide and conquer.”

— Charles Barkley

97. “Every time I think about changing a diaper, I run a little bit harder and a little bit faster to make sure I can afford a nanny until my daughter’s old enough to take care of that herself.”

— Charles Barkley

98. “I don’t how anybody taller than 6-4 can sit in those seats. And the airline executives don’t give a damn ’cause they never walk back there in the first place. I don’t fly first class because I have a lot of money. I do it because I need the room.”

— Charles Barkley

99. “Most sportswriters don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.”

— Charles Barkley

100. “Look, I’m in the top 20 of players who ever lived.”

— Charles Barkley