“It’s not like we’re having unprotected sex with Magic.”

As anyone following the NBA knows at this point, Charles Barkley sometimes says some things that can be questionable. What many don’t know is that this is nothing new. Barkley has always been someone who says what he wants and when he played it was way worse than the things he says now.

While some believe the things Barkley is saying now are certainly not right, they would definitely have hated the guy if they had heard what he said back then.

At one point, he gave his sneakers a kick while playing against the Chicago Bulls. He did so and couldn’t even walk away with a win as Michael Jordan dropped nearly 40 points in a 96-85 win. The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t necessarily the best team back then, but Barkley hoped they would defeat the Bulls.

Charles Barkley’s Magic Johnson Comments

Well, if that’s all Charles Barkley did, it certainly wouldn’t be something that’s really talked about a lot these days. However, if a player came out with it on their sneakers during NBA 2023, we’d likely see fights and fines left and right.

During his final season with the Philadelphia 76ers, 1991-1992, Barkley decided to wear the No. 32 in honor of Magic Johnson.

Magic announced just before the season that he was HIV positive, and players wanted to support him.

There were also members of the media who didn’t understand what HIV was at the time and were curious what it would be like to play with Magic when he returned to the court. What Charles Barkley said next angered the country as he said something that many at the time felt was a bit too sensitive.

“We only play basketball,” Barkley said. “It’s not like we’re having unprotected sex with Magic.”

Yes, that’s a real Barkley quote, and he probably meant every word. The world at the time was scared of HIV and didn’t necessarily know how it could affect them. It once sent the world into a frenzy, but Barkley knew they had to have some form of sexual intercourse to contract the disease.

While that certainly wasn’t the right thing to do from his point of view, there was some truth to that remark.

It doesn’t look like Barkley and Magic hate each other now. There wasn’t necessarily a time when the two hung out, but that doesn’t mean they dislike each other because of those comments.