NBA great Charles Barkley used the tragic death of Jason Collins this week to admonish America for being anti-gay on ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” Wednesday night.

Imagine how thrilled the suits in Bristol were during this segment? Not that Chuck needs it, but they’d give him a raise in a SECOND after this rant.

Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, died this week at 47. He passed following an eight-month battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer he had been fighting since last August.

The 7-footer out of Stanford was primarily used in defensive and physical matchups during his career, but became a household name in 2013 when he came out in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated.

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During Wednesday’s “Inside the NBA,” Barkley said we “live in a homophobic society,” before dropping this bombshell on viewers:

“Anybody who thinks that we don’t have a bunch of gay players in all sports, they’re just stupid,” Barkley said. “There is such animosity toward the gay community. That’s what’s really unfortunate. If you think there’s not more gay players in the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA, you’re just stupid.”

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Well, there you have it. Charles Barkley has spoken. Apparently, he knows a ton of gay athletes across various leagues who are scared to come out because of the “homophobic society” we live in. Barkley later said during this rant that gay people in the “Black community” get “treated awful.”

A couple humdingers here from Chuck, who was clearly on one this week after the passing of Collins and Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. Obviously, tensions are high right now in the NBA world, and rightfully so. Two deaths in the same week is almost unheard of in the sports world. It’s a lot. I get it.

That being said, this seems like a bit much from Barkley, who can be … outspoken … every once in a while. Breaking news, I know. Charles Barkley says some crazy things. Wild.

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Collins coming out was a huge deal. I remember it well, and I HATE the NBA. Loathe it. But it was all folks talked about for weeks.

Honestly, I’d argue that society was far more anti-gay in 2013 than it is now, for what it’s worth. Has Charles been alive for the past six years? It’s like we overcorrected, and now if you don’t accept every single person — including dudes who pummel women between the hashes — you’re the antichrist.

As for the other players around the league(s) who Barkley insists are gay and hiding it … I can’t speak to that. I have no clue if that’s true or not. Charles Barkley, to be fair, would probably know better than I do. To my knowledge, there has never been an openly gay player in MLB. Same with the NHL.

There have been a couple in the NFL: Carl Nassib and Michael Sam.

That’s it. The list is short. Perhaps Chuck knows something we don’t? Again, I don’t know.

Frankly, I don’t care. Two athletes died this week. We can mourn them without virtue-signaling. That’s fair, right?

Oh well. Chuck did his job, and I’m sure ESPN is thrilled with the end result.

Onwards.

San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle is no stranger to taking defenders on in the middle of the field, but he found himself in a battle against a different kind of beast early Wednesday night.

Kittle, 32, took to social media to retell his tale against a ginormous spider.

“At 4 a.m. this morning, as I laid in a deep slumber, I was called to action by my wife, who had discovered a spider the size of a half-dollar in the bathroom. Without hesitation, I arose to combat the intruder,” Kittle posted to X.

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Kittle, who has been rehabbing after tearing his right Achilles tendon during the playoffs, used his equipment to eliminate the threat.

“Claire handed me the slant board I’ve been using for rehab, and I immediately knew the spider had no chance. It took but 1 attempt to strike down my opponent. I received hugs and kisses for my bravery and fell back asleep with confidence. Have a day, gentlemen,” Kittle posted with a spider emoji.

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Kittle can only hope his successful and courageous takedown of the massive spider is how his rehab goes. The former Iowa star sustained the injury during the 49ers’ 23-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said last month that “there’s a chance” Kittle could play Week 1 during an appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show.”

If Kittle plays Week 1, it would be a huge boost to the 49ers’ offense. The seven-time Pro Bowler has been dynamic in his nine-year career.

Last season, in 11 games, Kittle caught 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns. In his career, the two-time All-Pro has caught 595 passes for 8,008 yards and 52 touchdowns.

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A former FBI agent is urging President Trump to send a stark warning to Iran ahead of the World Cup, saying that the country’s sleeper cells could pose a threat to the global sporting event.

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in June, former Navy SEAL and FBI special agent Jonathan Gilliam urged Trump to send Iran a message: back off or face the consequences.

“I would hope that the president makes it known before this occurs, that if Iran does anything during these World Cup events, that it’s going to be not just a retaliatory strike, but that would be the end of any talks and that he will lay waste to everything and anything that is the Iranian regime if that occurs,” Gilliam said.

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Gilliam also made a provocative suggestion how Trump should send a warning message to Iran.

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“I think if the president did that, and he showed that he was very serious, gave some sign, dropped a MOAB in the middle of nowhere in Iran and said, ‘this is what’s going to occur if you if you touch anyone in the United States.’ … This is what’s coming to you,” Gilliam said. “A MOAB, that’s the largest non-nuclear conventional bomb in the world in history. And you can drop that somewhere and make a dramatic impact if the president was to show force like Iran does.”

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“They play diplomat, but they understand force, and so I would recommend that the president examine possibilities like that and that he makes it known that ‘you do anything here, then that’s it,'” he added.

Gilliam said that there are already sleeper cells in the U.S. The question is whether they will be activated to carry out an attack during the World Cup.

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“The probability may vary, so the numbers game, is it 100% guaranteed, is it 50% guaranteed? That’s always a game that you really don’t want to play,” he said. “All of these things are going to play into the fact that sleeper cells have always been, for any of these events in the United States and around the world, have always been a possibility.“

His warning comes at a time when negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear to be breaking down, with Trump responding “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” to Iran’s recent response to a U.S. ceasefire proposal.

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The president addressed the Iranian sleeper cell threat in early March, pushing blame onto former President Biden for letting them into the country.

TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’VE GOT OUR EYES ON’ IRANIAN SLEEPER CELLS IN US

“I have been (briefed), and a lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border,” Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy. “But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them.”

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$625 million is being distributed to secure the World Cup after being passed by Congress and signed by Trump, which is being directed to law enforcement agencies to cover overtime costs.

In total, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent nearly $900 million toward securing the World Cup, according to a news release from the agency.

The World Cup starts on June 11 and runs through July 19 and the United States will host 78 World Cup matches, while Mexico and Canada will host the rest.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.