NBA Legend Charles Barkley Mocks NCAA Co-Host for Being 'Republican' and Blaming 'Everything on the President

Those who usually look forward to watching sports as a relief from the day's politics were probably surprised on Tuesday night. That's because politics and sports collided just minutes before 10 pm ET on Tuesday night when NBA legend Charles Barkley mocked co-host Kenny Smith Greg Anthony,* alleging Smith Anthony was a Republican because Smith Anthony suggested the president might be responsible for a delay in truTV's airing of the first round of the NCAA tournament.

While waiting for the Iona and BYU game to start, which didn't start on time, Smith Anthony suggested the delay might be due to the president attending the previous game and the related "security reasons." That's not that far-fetched, considering President Obama hosted British Prime Minister David Cameron for the game preceding the Iona-BYU game. But Barkley wasn't having any of it.

"You can't be making up stuff," Barkley said while holding his hand to his head. "Oh yeah, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right. I forgot, you're a Republican. Just make 'em up as you go. Blame everything on the president. Ya'll blame everything on the president."

To be fair, the others in the studio we're chuckling during the exchange. But some of it did seem to be a nervous laughter and the main studio host quickly moved on.

See for yourself below:

*We've updated this story to note it was Greg Anthony, not Kenny Smith, who Barkley was addressing. Anthony has aligned with the Republican Party in the past, serving as a representative of the Young Republicans in college.

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