Would Charles Barkley visit the White House today if he was invited as a member of a championship sports team?
The iconic NBA star never won a league championship. He is one of the best NBA players of all-time to never win a title. Barkley had his chances, losing to Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals, but he could never get the job done in full.
Barkley did, though, win a Summer Olympics gold medal with the "Dream Team" in 1992. It was a legendary run. Would Barkley, as a gold medalist, choose to visit the White House today, led by President Trump?
It's an interesting discussion.
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Barkley said it's an easy decision: he would go to the White House. The legendary NBA star made his admission on the "Steam Room" podcast this week.
"I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office," Barkley said. "He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
"I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity."
U.S. hockey players ripped for their visit
Not everyone agrees with Charles, though.
Legendary U.S women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe ripped the men's players for visiting with President Trump.
"The United States men's hockey team, in their utter moment of glory ... ruined it for themselves because they allowed themselves to be totally co-opted by a clown," Rapinoe said on A Touch More with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. "And now, you're a clown. You look like a clown."
She added: "You have the medal. You have the medal swinging around your neck that you won, that you fought for, that you dreamt about your whole life, and then you just gave this whole moment over to this person who you know is just only gonna use it for him. Gonna totally co-opt it."