Charles Barkley speaks out about 'homophobic society' after Jason Collins' death

Charles Curtis, For The WinThu, May 14, 2026 at 1:45 PM UTC

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Charles Barkley speaks out about 'homophobic society' after Jason Collins' death

The Inside the NBA crew took a good five minutes to talk about the deaths of Brandon Clarke and Jason Collins, which were both announced on Wednesday.

Part of the focus was on Collins as a trailblazer, the NBA's first openly gay player. Charles Barkley spoke about how courageous he was at the time and how proud the Hall of Famer was to see how Collins handled himself.

When Kenny Smith spoke about the "big deal" it was to come out 13 years ago and it doesn't feel big now "because of people like him," Barkley had a lot to say in response.

"Kenny, in fairness now, if another guy did it, it would still be a big deal because we live in a homophobic society, and that's unfortunate," he said. "Anybody who think we ain't got a bunch of gay players in all sports, they're just stupid. There is such animosity toward the gay community, and that's what's really unfortunate."

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Watch the entire segment that included Barkley's comments:

What was Brandon Clarke's cause of death?

Clarke was 29 years old, with his death being investigated as a possible drug overdose.

What was Jason Collins' cause of death?

Collins was 47 and died months after being diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Charles Barkley calls out homophobic society after Jason Collins death

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”