Galveston is perhaps most famous for being the birthplace of Tina Knowles, Beyonce’s mother. Apart from that, the city has also become infamous after Charles Barkley’s incessant hate for it. The 76ers legend has spoken multiple times about how much he dislikes the city, and he even explained his hatred to Jason Kelce on the former Philadelphia Eagles Center’s late-night talk show.
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They Call It Late Night’s debut episode was a celebration of Philly sports and entertainment royalty, with Barkley, Lil Dicky, and Brian Baldinger gracing the stage. A fan in the audience asked Barkley about a potential vacation in Galveston, which elicited a hilarious rant from the Hall of Famer. He talked about the time he was getting traded to the Rockets to explain where his hate for the city stemmed from.
“The Rockets called me and said, ‘We trading for you.’ I called a couple players and they’re like training camp is at the beach. And I’m like well it can’t be that bad. We go down to Galveston, and I’m looking at the water like, ‘What the f**k?’
Barkley went on to point out why a beach is worthy and what makes it useless. He said,
Like what good is a beach when you can’t go on the beach? I mean it was crazy! There’s no sense in having a beach if you can’t go in the water.”
While it’s hilarious to hear Barkley talk about the water in Galveston and how the beaches didn’t meet his expectations as an outsider, his hatred for the city has been noticed by many residents, and they’ve all reacted in their own way.
Charles Barkley vs. the city of Galveston
Chuck’s dislike for the city was first made clear during last year’s playoffs. After the New Orleans Pelicans went 3-0 down to the OKC Thunder, many analysts predicted a sweep, and the Inside the NBA crew was no different. In fact, Barkley was so disgusted by the Pelicans’ utter lack of effort, that he even suggested they didn’t deserve a vacation in Cancun.
Instead, he said the side deserved to drive down to Galveston, with “that dirty a** water.” His near-minute-long rant was met with hearty laughter from all three of his co-hosts, with Shaquille O’Neal even having to take his glasses off because tears were coming out of his eyes from laughing.
Chuck’s had it with the Pelicans 💀 pic.twitter.com/hko6mQY8kN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 27, 2024
However, his words about the city seemed to have ruffled some feathers. Galveston natives started to clap back at Barkley, with the city’s tourism board leading the charge. Several billboards were issues, each criticizing a different aspect of Barkley’s life.
One read, “Hey Charles, come on down — water’s fine!”
Another went at the former MVP’s golfing skills, and criticized his swing, saying, “Our water is cleaner than your golf swing.”
Another, and this might be the most personal one yet, read, “You’ve never turned down any of our great food.”
This seemed to be the end, until a member of the City’s Council wrote an email to Houston Public Media, addressing Chuck’s comments. An excerpt from David Collins’ email read as follows:
“Mr. Barkley used the phrase ‘dirty water washed up on the beach. If anyone understands being washed up, it would be Mr. Barkley.”
Of course, Chuck has not responded to the jabs aimed at him, but he did apologize to Tina Knowles, claiming he didn’t want Beyonce’s fanbase after him because of his comments. But it seems he has all but forgotten about the backlash from the last time.
