During Thursday night’s Inside the NBA, a seemingly exhausted Charles Barkley offered up an outrageous COVID vaccine take, saying that professional athletes should be able to jump the line because they pay more in taxes.
“Three hundred million shots, give a thousand to some NBA players, NFL players, hockey players,” Barkley said. “Listen, as much taxes as these players pay, they deserve some preferential treatment.”
Kenny Smith pushed back against Barkley’s take, asking if Barkley was really saying athletes should get such preferential treatment when it comes to matters of “life or death.”
“Yes,” Barkley doubled down.
Charles Barkley says NBA/NFL players should jump the line and get vaccine shots because they pay more taxes than normal people pic.twitter.com/ce5y1WTTOk
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 15, 2021
Look, I don’t even know where to begin with why this is such a dumb and callous take, but off the top of my head, the health and safety of an individual should never be tied to the amount of money that they make. It’s an absurd logic that says athletes matter more than essential workers because they are in a high income bracket, and therefor theoretically pay more in taxes. It devalues the inherent worth of a life, tying it to arbitrary market factors ruled under the inhumane laws of capitalism.
Plus, it isn’t even factual. Top tier athletes, like the top 1% of society, often pay a lower tax rate than many working class people.
Money doesn’t determine a person’s worth, nor should it determine where they stand in line to receive a COVID vaccine.
Thankfully, Twitter was more than happy to dunk on Barkley for his garbage, elitist take.
Charles Barkley when a poor person asks him for a vaccine. pic.twitter.com/tfUPGAVeCH
— Gaseous Clay (@claytonotcletus) January 15, 2021
How much we betting that the missing vaccines are at Charles Barkley’s crib cuz he and the NBA pay more taxes than the rest of us poor peasants?!?
— Christina N. Harrington, Ph.D. (she/her) (@adapperprof) January 15, 2021
society has progressed beyond the need to have charles barkley offer his opinion on anything https://t.co/8cR7h0R6tI
— adrian 2: still postin’ (@CrawfinUSA) January 15, 2021
Charles Barkley giving his take on NBA players jumping to the front of the line to get a COVID vaccine pic.twitter.com/XUkCrfvP4D
— Richard R. Waithe, PharmD (@richard_waithe) January 15, 2021
… Is Charles Barkley drunk? pic.twitter.com/RC2cKik5q6
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 15, 2021
If cancel culture was a real thing, we wouldn't have to listen to Charles Barkley every week. pic.twitter.com/dG1BSGD9Xt
— David Ruffin (@ReallyJSanders) January 15, 2021
Charles Barkley is funny at times but he is a very dangerous human being.
The nonsense he talks is wicked.
— Scam Allardyce (@Nigerianscamsss) January 15, 2021
This isn't only an inhumane take from Charles Barkley — our frontline workers and high-risk population should get the vaccine first, not healthy pro athletes — but it isn’t even factual. Working-class people sometimes pay a higher effective tax rate than the 1%. https://t.co/QOHcPS1S6V
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) January 15, 2021
Charles Barkley really just said that the NBA players need to be moved to the front of the line for the vaccine because they pay taxes and give money to charity??? pic.twitter.com/X7yNs6NhC5
— jas. ❄️🎄🎁 (@jasredlights) January 15, 2021
I am not sure what Charles Barkley was smoking implying that because sports players pay more in taxes that they should be allow to get the vaccine. No, they need to wait just like everybody else. They are not more important than essential workers or me. @NBAonTNT
— deborah jones (@lildaj123) January 15, 2021
People are out here high risk and in serious danger and Charles Barkley thinks Elfrid Payton deserves the vaccine before them just because the Knicks overpaid him. https://t.co/5Jo3B8630z
— Anthony Borsellino (@AnthonyBregal) January 15, 2021
