Basketball legend Charles Barkley said Wednesday that sports stars who deny there is lewd talk in locker rooms are being “disingenuous.”
He was contradicting several professional athletes, including Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James, who objected to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump explaining that his crude remarks about women caught on a hot microphone was “locker room talk.”
“In the locker room I’ve heard things and I’ve said things myself that I would not want to be repeated publicly,” Mr. Barkley said in an interview on CNN. “For people to act like they haven’t heard stuff in the locker room I think is disingenuous.”
Mr. Barkley did not defend Mr. Trump’s remarks caught on the 2005 video that surfaced this month and were universally condemned, precipitating a sharp drop in the polls.
On the tape, Mr. Trump is heard bragging that his celebrity status allows him to kiss and fondle women he met causally.
“Let me say this. I have a daughter so I’m against any form of sexual harassment or sexual assault,” Mr. Barkley said.
Mr. Barkley, a lifelong Democrat, said he would not vote for Mr. Trump but he also was having a hard time convincing himself to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
He didn’t like his choices on the ballot.
“I’m disappointed for the American people. It’s not going to have an effect on my life who wins the presidency, but I feel bad for hard-working American people,” he said. “I’ve always voted Democrat my entire life. But I’m having a hard time pulling the trigger for her. Right now, I haven’t made a decision if I’m going to vote or not. But if I vote, I’m going to vote Democratic. But it’s going to be — it’s just something about her that makes me uncomfortable and clearly I can’t vote for the other guy.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.