Charles Barkley hosted Saturday Night Live for the fourth time, and used his monologue to discuss the issue of athletes speaking out against inequality.
Charles Barkley perfectly mixed humor and his message on athlete protests in his SNL monologue
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Chuck opened by explaining how athletes are being criticized for speaking out, and afraid that taking a stand will hurt their career. Barkley disagreed, using himself as an example.
“I’ve been saying whatever the hell I want for 30 years, and I’m doing great. I’m hosting SNL for the fourth time, for no reason — other than Lorne Michaels wanted someone to talk to about Black Panther.”
The self-deprecation came with a bigger meaning. Barkley discussed how FOX News’ Laura Ingraham told LeBron James to “shut up and dribble,” when it came to speaking out. Barkley pointed out the strong history of athletes speaking out in America.
“This country’s had a great tradition of athletes speaking their mind. Muhammad Ali changed the way people thought about Vietnam. Jim Brown had people thinking about race. Michael Jordan even thought it was okay for humans to play with Looney Tunes.”
The mix of comedy an hard-hitting commentary in the monologue was great, even if Chuck tripped over his wording at times. He pointed out how FOX News said he was attending a “hip hop barbecue,” when the majority of attendees weren’t even musicians. He said that he will always proudly stand for the national anthem, but that doesn’t mean we should try to curb anyone’s rights to do the opposite. In the end he closed with a powerful message that got raucous applause from the crowd.
“So LeBron, keep on dribbling — and don’t EVER shut up. And maybe one day you can host SNL for a fourth time, just like me.”
