Charles Barkley hit San Francisco below the belt while commentating during Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game, ribbing fellow Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller about whether he’d trade the cold for “a bunch of homeless crooks.”
Miller, who spent his 18-year career in Indianapolis, was asked by Barkley whether he’d keep the 17-degree winter weather or trade it for “being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco.” The remark prompted playful pushback from Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who called Barkley “crazy” for dissing his city, adding he would not be “welcome.” WNBA star Candace Parker added “We love San Francisco” before Barkley doubled down on his hot take.
“No we don’t,” he said. “… You can’t even walk around down there.”
“Yes you can walk around,” Green replied emphatically.
“Yeah, with a bulletproof vest,” Barkley shot back.
“Chuck, you live in Philadelphia!” Green yelled incredulously.
WATCH:
Charles Barkley again bashed San Francisco, this time around talk of the cold in Indianapolis. “If you had the chance between being cold or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?” pic.twitter.com/o0W9aUQCyI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 19, 2024
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Barkley is no staunch conservative, previously ripping alt-righters for boycotting Bud Light and the trans agenda. But even he isn’t blind to the realities of a once-prosperous city that has fallen on hard times. Crime in drug-infested ‘Frisco neighborhoods like the Tenderloin has skyrocketed, prompting businesses to flee in what economists have termed a “doom loop” that enhances the city’s struggle to get its footing back.
Residents who spoke with Fox News in November said the current situation is unlike any they have ever seen.
“This is a disgrace. I’ve been to 50-plus countries and traveled the world. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jeremy Bernier told a local affiliate.
“It’s just ground zero of the fentanyl crisis. You’ve got people literally smoking fentanyl, taking these drugs out on the streets. You’ve got the tents and camps while you’ve got a playground with children playing right nearby, and this is blocks away from the mayor’s office. It’s just unbelievable to me that a city and country with such immense wealth can have such blatant poverty and suffering.”
Liberal city officials have been caught in a dueling narrative with the press, attempting to portray San Francisco’s crime rates at the “lowest in 10 years.” that prompted SF Gate to show data that motor vehicle thefts are up from 2022 with 6,571 reported thefts in 2023 against 6,222 in 2022. Robberies in 2023 were up 14.5% than a year ago.
“Our work around public safety is making a difference, but we’ve got more work to do,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in January. “We are not letting up on our efforts to make San Francisco a safer and enjoyable city for everyone, and this includes continuing to ramp up police staffing and giving our local enforcement agencies the resources they need to do their job.”
“I want to thank our local, state, and federal public safety partners for their collaboration. Together we are sending a message that San Francisco won’t tolerate rampant crime and that there will be accountability.”
