In addition to the Alamo and its women, we can now add the Riverwalk to Charles Barkley’s list of objections to the historic Texas city of San Antonio.
During a guest appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, the topic of an upcoming trip to San Antonio came up. At which point, the ESPN hot-taker reminded the TNT hot-taker of his past comments in which he said the women of San Antonio were fat.
Barkley told Smith the comments were just him “having fun.”
“Let’s make people have a good time because we want people to watch,” Barkley said. “You know, San Antonio, I was just having fun.”
A close-up shot of NBA TNT Analyst Charles Barkley talking on set before the New York Knicks game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 25, 2016, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Barkley explained, “When I went down there, and they were coming for me, these women were coming up to me, ‘I ain’t that big,’ and we’re laughing. Then I got people coming up, ‘Chuck, you’re right, we got some big ones down here,’ and I’m laughing both ways.”
He added, “You want people having fun watching stupid basketball. That’s all it is.”
However, maybe just because they were on the subject—or just because he’s that guy—Barkley decided to target one of San Antonio’s favorite tourist attractions, The Riverwalk.
“Wait a minute,” Barkley said. “They call it the Riverwalk. That’s a dirty, little creek. And then, their number one tourist attraction is a place where everybody got killed. Think about that: The Alamo.”
Over 300,000 San Antonians crowd the River Walk in celebration of the San Antonio Spurs 2005 NBA Championship on June 25, 2005, at the San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs have won 3 NBA Championships in the last 7 years. (D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)
One man’s “place where everybody got killed” is another man’s rallying cry for the cause of independence, apparently.
While the water quality of The Riverwalk is pretty terrible and likely cannot be defended, Barkley’s point about the obesity prevalent in the city is far more assailable.
Based on 2022 self-reported weight and height by state and territory, Barkley’s home state of Alabama ranked 6th in the country in terms of obesity, at 38.3 percent. And, the state of Texas, in which San Antonio is located (you know, “the place where everybody got killed”), had an obesity rate of 35.5 percent, almost three full points below Barkley’s Alabama.
So, there, take that. Remember the Alamo!
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