“Don’t Give a Damn”: Charles Barkley Boycotts 76ers’ $1.6 Billion Project, Declares Protest After TNT Job Accusations

Charles Barkley and the city of Philadelphia are the perfect fit. But Sir Charles and the 76ers are the love-hate trope. Discounting the start of his NBA career in Philly and his dramatic trade to Phoenix, Barkley has shown a full spectrum of feelings for the Sixers. He still gets mad about their trade decisions three decades ago but doesn’t want New Yorkers on Sixers’ turf. On The Mike Missanelli Show, Barkley had a lot more to express about his first team. For one, he blames them for jeopardizing the NBA on TNT‘s future. With that reasoning, Barkley is staunchly opposed to the team’s new and expensive project.

If you’ve been in the Sixers news circuit lately, you’d have heard the chatter about a new arena. The team and the New Jersey administration hinted that the proposed new home of the Philadelphia 76ers could be in Camden. While there are sports teams with arenas out of their home cities, it’s rarely accepted. Not only are Sixers and Camden residents opposed, but so is one of the biggest names in franchise history.

While admitting to Missanelli on 97.5 Fanatic that his era in the team is long past, he says, “I would never go to a Sixers game in Camden ever if they moved over there.” His reasoning is straightforward too. “It’s not the Camden Sixers.”

The 76ers selected Barkley, the Auburn star, 5th overall in 1984 after some back-and-forth negotiations. He’d demand a trade in 1992 but he’d remain beloved to the city. If you watched TNT’s coverage of the playoffs this past season, you’d have caught Barkley’s tirade against New Yorkers in the Wells Fargo Center during the Knicks-76ers series. He didn’t care about New Yorkers’ sentiments or that tickets to watch the playoffs in Philadelphia are cheaper than Madison Square Garden. And if the team went to the Garden State, Barkley wants no part of it.

“I don’t give a damn, I would never go to a game if the Sixers…” leave the city where they built their legacy, he left implied. As a lot of people have said, Barkley touted the storied history of the 76ers in their native city to emphasize the necessity of why they should stay. He hails his beloved team as the third greatest in NBA history after the Lakers and Celtics, well above Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Steph Curry’s Warriors.

He’s firm that moving the team out of city limits would change its identity. He also makes it out to be a capitalist scheme that’s impacting more than the fans.

When he addressed the 76ers’ potential relocation on the same show, the estimated cost hit his nerves. The new South Jersey arena could cost $1.6 billion. Gov. Phil Murphy and the New Jersey administration are keen on having the Sixers. The team could potentially receive $400 million in tax credits and $500 million in bonds. While the franchise stands to gain, fans and Camden locals aren’t welcoming this move. Moreover, Barkley alleges that in order to meet the 76ers’ expensive demand, the NBA went with the more lucrative media rights package.

Charles Barkley blames the TNT crisis on the 76ers

We know Turner is shut out of the NBA because of it. “I’m getting fired because the Sixers want a new arena,” is what he proclaimed to Missanelli. It’s a farfetched theory, but he alleged that the NBA chose the $76 billion deal with Amazon, NBC, and ESPN to meet the growing salary caps and infrastructure demands of the teams.

Barkley was close to retiring but has changed his decision to stay with TNT despite losing the NBA rights. He’s not getting fired but he’s worried about his colleagues of 25 years behind the scenes losing their jobs. He hints their Atlanta studio is a ghost town run by a skeleton crew.

Even if the 76ers move to Jersey, Charles Barkley might not be able to desert them the way he couldn’t leave TNT. The man’s loyal, for sure. But with the NBA not on TNT, he might not have to see them play in a new city after all.