Charles Barkley Slams Politicians, 'They're All Crooks,' During NIL Rant

Charles Barkley punctuated Thursday's March Madness slate by dunking over all the NCAA's new president, along with the Democratic and Republican parties.

"Our politicians are awful people," Barkley said during a break in the action on CBS's tournament coverage.

Well, he's not wrong...

Before the Round Mound of Rebound went after both red and blue, he opted to box out Charlie Baker, who recently took over as NCAA president. Baker drew Barkley's ire when he told studio host Greg Gumbel of his "consumer protections" vision pertaining to the NCAA's Name, Image and Likeness rules - or lack thereof. But that's not what irritated Chuck. It was whom Baker intends to seek counsel from that had Barkley fired up.

"Obviously we're gonna talk some with the folks in Washington about this," Baker said about some uneasiness around NIL. "And there's a fair amount of appetite to try and deal with this."

Chuck wasn't exactly on board.

"Did he say we're going to ask the politicians to help us? See, that pisses me off already," a clearly annoyed Charles Barkley stated. "Our politicians are awful people."

Charles Barkley Calls Politicians 'Crooks'

Barkley, who earlier this month told Denver's Altitude Sports Radio: “I can promise you this, I’ve never said anything on television just to get clicks, that don’t mean I’ve been right or wrong, whatever,” wasted little time elaborating on why he was so pissed off.

He quickly mentioned that he'd avoid politicians' opinions on NIL and instead go to "people who actually care about basketball." Barkley added that he'd rather put a committee together of coaches, players and others, like broadcast partner Clark Kellogg, who are associated with college basketball.

Charles Barkley did not hold back his thoughts on Democrats and Republicans during Thursday's broadcast. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images).

As for the right and left, Barkley's about as interested in their thoughts as he was in being a role model during his NBA playing career.

"We can't ask these politicians nothin'. Those people are awful people," Barkley insisted. "Democrats and Republicans. They're all crooks."

Not unlike his playing career, when Barkley shoots, he rarely misses. That appears to have been the case again this evening.

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