Charles Barkley admonishes society for being homophobic in virtue-signaling rant about Jason Collins' death

NBA great Charles Barkley used the tragic death of Jason Collins this week to admonish America for being anti-gay on ESPN's "Inside the NBA" Wednesday night.

Imagine how thrilled the suits in Bristol were during this segment? Not that Chuck needs it, but they'd give him a raise in a SECOND after this rant.

Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player, died this week at 47. He passed following an eight-month battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer he had been fighting since last August.

The 7-footer out of Stanford was primarily used in defensive and physical matchups during his career, but became a household name in 2013 when he came out in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated.

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During Wednesday's "Inside the NBA," Barkley said we "live in a homophobic society," before dropping this bombshell on viewers:

"Anybody who thinks that we don't have a bunch of gay players in all sports, they're just stupid," Barkley said. "There is such animosity toward the gay community. That's what's really unfortunate. If you think there's not more gay players in the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA, you're just stupid."

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Well, there you have it. Charles Barkley has spoken. Apparently, he knows a ton of gay athletes across various leagues who are scared to come out because of the "homophobic society" we live in. Barkley later said during this rant that gay people in the "Black community" get "treated awful."

A couple humdingers here from Chuck, who was clearly on one this week after the passing of Collins and Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. Obviously, tensions are high right now in the NBA world, and rightfully so. Two deaths in the same week is almost unheard of in the sports world. It's a lot. I get it.

That being said, this seems like a bit much from Barkley, who can be ... outspoken ... every once in a while. Breaking news, I know. Charles Barkley says some crazy things. Wild.

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Collins coming out was a huge deal. I remember it well, and I HATE the NBA. Loathe it. But it was all folks talked about for weeks.

Honestly, I'd argue that society was far more anti-gay in 2013 than it is now, for what it's worth. Has Charles been alive for the past six years? It's like we overcorrected, and now if you don't accept every single person — including dudes who pummel women between the hashes — you're the antichrist.

As for the other players around the league(s) who Barkley insists are gay and hiding it ... I can't speak to that. I have no clue if that's true or not. Charles Barkley, to be fair, would probably know better than I do. To my knowledge, there has never been an openly gay player in MLB. Same with the NHL.

There have been a couple in the NFL: Carl Nassib and Michael Sam.

That's it. The list is short. Perhaps Chuck knows something we don't? Again, I don't know.

Frankly, I don't care. Two athletes died this week. We can mourn them without virtue-signaling. That's fair, right?

Oh well. Chuck did his job, and I'm sure ESPN is thrilled with the end result.

Onwards.