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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley used a segment about UConn Huskies star Alex Karaban to rant about politics during CBS’ March Madness broadcast on Sunday.
CBS featured Karaban in an episode about his family. His mother, Olga, came to Massachusetts from Ukraine with her parents and grandparents in 1996. His father, Alexei, immigrated to the US from Belarus on a work visa in 2001.
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UConn forward Alex Karaban (11) speaks at a press conference before the game against Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
After the episode aired, Barkley complained about the alleged treatment of illegal immigrants.
“I want to be careful with my words right now because this is a very emotional topic for me,” he said. “I love that child and his family, but the way some of these immigrants are being treated in our country right now is a disgrace and a disgrace. I think there is a difference between wonderful immigrants and criminals. I think what is happening in our country, what we are doing to some of these wonderful immigrants, is really unfortunate and really sad.
“And it’s a great story about immigrants. We have a lot of good immigrant stories out there that deserve to be told, but some of the things that are happening to immigrants in our country right now are unfortunate and really wrong. But immigrants are building this country and we should praise and respect them.”
Former NBA player Charles Barkley during the pro-am before the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge on March 4, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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Barkley did not cite any examples of legal immigrants being mistreated in the US
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regularly announces the arrest of criminal immigrants suspected of heinous crimes in the US.
Still, DHS and agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are often criticized for their tactics of detaining illegal immigrants.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered new criticism of ICE ahead of the “No Kings” rally.
“We make it clear that no one is above the law in this city, everyone must follow the law,” said Mamdani. “I have been very clear to the president, in our private conversations and in our public conversations, about the fact that I believe ICE is a corrupt organization.”
Protesters held up a “Stop ICE” sign after being removed from the building by Seattle police during a bill signing ceremony with Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington on reducing face coverings on law enforcement officers and making it a crime to impersonate a peace officer, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
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Mamdani added that he believes ICE is “reckless” and “does nothing to advance public safety.”
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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