From a purely professional perspective, NBA players' job is to focus on basketball and entertain fans. However, that has never been the reality for NBA players. Since the 1960s, players such as Bill Russell, then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and now LeBron James have never shied away from expressing their political views.
NBA players have every right to use their platforms to speak about issues that matter to them, but Matt Barnes believes that has also created an expectation that every player should have something to say about every major political or social issue. The 2017 NBA champ wants to push back against that expectation.
From Matt's point of view, if players are not sufficiently educated about a subject, they should not feel pressured to speak simply because fans or the media expect them to. Otherwise, expressing an uninformed opinion can create serious consequences.
In the age of social media, almost every word spoken by an NBA player can be analyzed, criticized and amplified within minutes. A single misleading statement or poorly worded opinion can quickly turn into a major controversy, with players often facing intense backlash before they even fully express themselves.
That is why Barnes urged people to stop expecting professional athletes to have an opinion on every political or social issue.
"I think sometimes we always put our biggest athletes up there like, 'Hey, you need to say this.' You don't have to say s—t, if you're not comfortable," Matt said . "We are judged on everything that comes out of our mouth, so if you're not educated, the worst thing you could do is speak on something you don't know just because people are saying you need to do it."
Safe to say, Matt's point isn't about the need for NBA players to remain silent; instead, he believes they should understand the responsibility that comes with using such a large platform, particularly when it comes to political issues.
And Barnes has firsthand experience with how quickly an athlete's comments can turn into a controversy. In 2020, NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson shared an antisemitic post on Instagram that falsely attributed inflammatory comments about Jewish people and control of America and the banking systems to Adolf Hitler.
Barnes' "All The Smoke" co-host, Stephen Jackson, not only claimed DeSean was "speaking the truth," but also made his own remarks about the Rothschild family and banks, repeating a conspiracy theory that has long been associated with antisemitic rhetoric.
The backlash was immediate, as ESPN personalities such as Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon viciously slammed Jackson. And for Barnes, the episode demonstrated exactly why NBA players, active or retired, should be fully educated about topics they choose to discuss publicly.
Eventually, Jackson acknowledged that he had used the "wrong words" and clarified that his intent was never to defend antisemitism.
"Was it DeSean Jackson that quoted something, some years back? He reposted something, and Jack reposted it, and they both kinda got into a little bit of hot water… some anti-semitic stuff a while back. It just kind of, 'Hey, as free as we think we are or we want to be, there are some topics you just have to be respectful around,'" Barnes added. "It was a misunderstanding on both their parts, and luckily we were able to clear that up."
So, put simply, Barnes is not asking NBA players to silence themselves or abandon their beliefs; instead, he wants everyone to recognize that speaking on political matters is a highly responsible task.
Related: Matt Barnes labeled Fox News host Sean Hannity an "outright bigot" who spews racism
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
