NBA Charles Barkley: “If you’re gay and transgender, I love you!”

In this June 24, 2019 file photo, Charles Barkley arrives for the NBA Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Former NBA star Charles Barkley said: “If you’re gay and transgender, I love you!”, with footage of the remark quickly going viral on Twitter.

“I want to say this: If you’re gay and transgender, I love you! Hey, and if someone gives you a flash, tell them Charles said, ‘F—k you!'” he said, according to a video posted on TikTok, urging a shout of joy when speaking.

Footage circulating on social media over the weekend indicated the location was Harveys Lake Tahoe, a casino and hotel located on the Nevis Stateline.

Barkley has been a vocal critic of anti-LGBT laws, including in 2016 when he spoke out against a North Carolina law that barred transgender people from using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity, instead allowing them to use the one that aligned with their gender identity. biological sex.

He called for the 2017 All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to be held in Charlotte, to be moved because of the legislation. The National Basketball Association (NBA) later moved the event.

“I think any time you’re black, you have to stand up for other people, because you black people know what discrimination is. And when you’re in a position of power, you always have to stand up against discrimination. And I’m a blessed man and … I’m never going to sit back and let discrimination happen on your watch,” Barkley told Ellen DeGeneres in a 2020 interview about protesting the All-Star Game.