Shaq and Charles Barkley apparently were not fans of their time in Salt Lake City – and a Utah state senator was not a fan of their comments.
The NBA held their All-Star festivities in Salt Lake City over the weekend, where Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron, 184-175, behind 55 points from MVP Jayson Tatum. While there was plenty of action on the court, Shaq and Barkley seemed to imply that there was not much off it.
“These people are going to heaven,” Barkley said during the game’s broadcast. “Ain’t nothing to do in this boring ass city.”
Shaq seemed to agree.
“I never ate so much room service in my life,” the NBA Hall of Famer replied.
Shaq, Charles Barkley and the rest of the “Inside the NBA” crew broadcast from All-Star Weekend Getty Images“Can’t smoke, can’t drink,” Barkley added. “These people are going to heaven.”
Utah state senator Nate Blouin, a Democrat who represents Salt Lake City, took offense to their comments, firing off a tweet of his own.
“Super disappointing take. Do better @SHAQ and Charles! Bet y’all were just cooped up in the all star VIP areas and didn’t even get into the city, and are just perpetuating a reputation we’re working hard to change,” Blouin tweeted.
As of Tuesday morning, Shaq and Chuck had yet to respond to Blouin’s tweet.
Nate Blouin TwitterUtah, which was hosting its second All-Star Weekend after being the site in 1993, has long been known as one of the states with the most restrictive policies in regards to alcohol and partying. Until recently, the state had a law that only allowed brewers to sell beer at 3.2 percent alcohol by volume.
In another tweet, Blouin shared an article saying that Utah would be giving out more bar licenses in the coming year – but the article also mentioned that certain high-ABV drinks would be removed from shelves.
