CBS Sports Analyst Charles Barkley Calls for Suspension of March Madness

Retired NBA star and sports commentator Charles Barkley called for the postponement of March Madness as the country remains engulfed in the coronavirus outbreak.

Barkley spoke to CNN’s Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto on Thursday to discuss the news that the NBA has suspended its season because of Covid-19 concerns, and the NCAA is going ahead with March Madness but not allowing fans to attend games. As Barkley acknowledged that his employers – Turner Sports and CBS – both shell out lots of money for March Madness airing rights, he went on record and recommended that the tournament be suspended.

“I love working for Turner and CBS, we have to take a step and look at March Madness. Even though they won’t have fans in the stands, I don’t want these big strong players breathing on each other for next month. I think the NCAA and the NBA should take a step back, let’s get all these players tested, these guys have been with their families for the last two weeks. So nobody knows, but all the NBA should be suspended. I think March Madness should be suspended. Let’s got the players tested because clearly it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

When asked if he heard anything about NBA executives and players recommending each other to be tested for the virus, Barkley said he thinks the NBA is making testing “mandatory” as he warned about how scary the epidemic is and how easily it could spread among the athletes. This led to him doubling down on his point that the college basketball tournament should be cancelled until further notice.

“We need to quit thinking about the financial interest. I know there is a lot of money at stake. I work for you guys, we pay a billion dollars for March Madness, I know that’s a lot of money, and I think we should honor our contract because we pay a lot of that money goes to the other sports, other than basketball and football, and supports all the other sports at these colleges. So we should honor our commitment…but we need to take a step back and say should we cancel March Madness, and my opinion is yes.”

Watch above, via CNN.