Charles Barkley jokingly made fun of solar eclipse viewers during the Turner broadcast of the NCAA men’s national championship game. While millions of individuals gathered beneath the sky — many of whom traveled to locations within the path of totality — others mocked the event.
On Monday, Barkley called anyone who watched and celebrated the solar eclipse a “loser.”
“Were y’all some of them losers standing outside watching [the eclipse] today?” he asked his co-hosts, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Clark Kellogg, and Jay Wright.
“They’re not losers,” Johnson argued.
But Barkley stood his ground: “Yes they are. Hey, we’ve all seen darkness before. Stop it.”
“Not in the daylight,” Smith said.
“Come on, Chuckster. Don’t hate on the eclipse,” Johnson said.
“Well I’m not going to sit outside like an idiot and wait on the darkness,” Barkley continued. “I could’ve waited… It’s going to be dark when you go outside.”
While not all states experienced total darkness, those people located within the path of totality got to witness full darkness in the middle of the day. To some, it was an epic experience.
Charles Barkley Calls Solar Eclipse Viewers ‘Losers’
Barkley laughed about the highly-anticipated solar eclipse of 2024, deeming many viewers “losers” for participating. However, he was located in Glendale, Arizona at the time — which was not part of the path of totality. In other words, his solar eclipse experience would have been underwhelming compared to those in other states who experienced complete darkness.
Even so, it didn’t seem like he would’ve cared either way.
Many people commented on the New York Post’s article about Barkley’s views of the eclipse.
“Nice to see people gathered outside for a real-life event, sharing it all together,” one person wrote. “Now that it’s all over they’ll go back to scrolling on their phones. It was a special little moment for people. And it didn’t last long. Sad what we’ve been reduced to since cellphones took over our lives.”
One person seemed to agree with Barkley’s opinion, stating, “It’s kind of sad that so many people are basically dissatisfied with their lives that they think spending thousands of dollars to stare at the sky for 20 minutes is going to change their lives drastically.”
Another person had a different view, commenting, “I usually like Chuck’s honesty but this seems like a bit of a mean-spirited cheap shot. If people were interested in the eclipse, let them have their fun. Who are they hurting?”