National Basketball League Hall of Fame star Charles Barkley has called the treatment of some immigrants a "travesty and a disgrace" during a sports broadcast on CBS. He appeared to oppose some of the actions from the Trump administration, including those to fulfill the president's order for mass deportations. Barkley praised a University of Connecticut basketball player named Alex Karaban, the son of immigrants from Belarus. He also stated that immigrants built this country and should be admired and respected. A video of his comments was widely circulated on social media. Barkley has previously defended sports players who refused to take a knee during the Black Lives Matter protests, arguing they should not be "vilified" for their beliefs.