“You’re The Biggest Damn Idiot In The World”: Charles Barkley Recalls Why His Mother Hated Him Changing His Name To ‘Travis’

Charles Barkley’s ability to retell the most mundane things in life in an entertaining way has made him one of the most beloved media personalities in the NBA. This time, he spoke to Jason Kelce and Ernie Johnson about how he almost changed his name to ‘Travis’ as a child.

On his podcast, Steam Room, Sir Charles revealed to Johnson and Kelce that one of the coolest kids in his neighborhood was called Travis, which prompted Barkley to contemplate changing his name to match that.

But when he told his mother about this idea, she rubbished it in an instant. “Why?” she said. “You’re the biggest damn idiot in the world, you’re named after your grandfather, I’m not changing your name.”

According to Chuck, he retaliated by telling his mother that nobody named Charles was good at sports. “Name me one famous Charles that plays sports. I want to change my name and I’ll be a much better player.”

Funnily enough, Charles’ claim would go on to get disproven by his own athletic accomplishments, and years later, there was a full circle moment. Turns out, a little boy named Travis wanted to be called Charles to be cool!

Jason Kelce revealed how his younger brother Travis was such a huge fan of Barkley that he went around telling everyone in his neighborhood that his name was Charles.

“My brother told all of our neighbors his name was Charles,” he casually mentioned. “Like he wanted to be Charles Barkley so bad. We found out at a block party, and we were like ‘Charles? What’re you talking about? His name is Travis!'”

It seems like Travis got a chance to talk to and get to know the person he wanted to be named after. Last February, the Chuckster stood up for the Chiefs tight-end and his partner Taylor Swift during a TV appearance.

Charles Barkley defended Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift from trolls

When the pop star and the three-time Super Bowl champ started dating, there was a mixed reaction from football fans on the internet, but most of it was harmless trolling.

However, as the NFL started showing the pop star on the game coverage for a few seconds, fans started to get vitriolic in their hate toward the couple.

Barkley, who’s very vocal with his thoughts and opinions, jumped to the couple’s defense. In an appearance on CNN, he said, “If you’re screaming at Taylor Swift saying she ruined [football], you’re just a loser. You’re just a loser or a jack**s.”

"If you’re screaming at Taylor Swift saying she ruined [football], you’re just a loser. You’re just a loser or a jackass." – Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/fhah8fjCjz

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 1, 2024

Barkley made a fair point. Just because the pop star was in the arena cheering on her boyfriend and the NFL showed her, in order to draw eyeballs, you can’t blame her. Kudos to Chuck for standing up for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.