“We’ve always lacked diversity,” Barkley said about Auburn University. “I’m doing my part to make sure we are more diverse”
Charles Barkley is taking a stand against the Supreme Court’s recent rulings on affirmative action.
The 60-year-old basketball legend has just announced he will be rewriting his will to now leave $5 million dollars to his alma mater, Auburn University earmarked for scholarships for Black students.
“In my will, I am leaving Auburn $5 million,” the NBA Hall of Famer told media outlet AL.com on Friday. “I’m going to change it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That’s just my way of trying to make sure Auburn stays diverse.”
Barkley’s announcement came one day after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in a 6-3 vote, declaring that race can no longer be used as a criterion in college admissions decisions. The Hall of Famer described the decision was a “shot across the bow, man.”
![Charles Barkley](https://people.com/thmb/5gzrUJ3OOHdYhFLwqL87ExOvBkc=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1798x0:1800x2):format(webp)/GettyImages-180877689-5667b80d5f9b583dc3ce8729.jpg)
While Barkley had always planned to leave money to his alma mater, he knew he wanted to make an socially impactful mark after the Supreme Court’s ruling. “I’ve actually changed it to be used for kids from poor homes. But after that ruling yesterday, my phone was blowing up. I was talking to my friends and said, ‘I need to make sure Black folks always have a place at Auburn,’” Barkley said.
He continued, “So, I’m gonna change my will and make it exclusive for Black students — all $5 million.’ It’s just for me the right thing to do. I always want to make sure that Auburn’s diverse.”
According to Auburn University data, Black student enrollment at the school in 2022 was 4.91%, a decrease from 2021, when it was 5.33%.
![auburn university](https://people.com/thmb/BR4P2W6iIxvUDvAZk7_TpGd99ko=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Auburn-599e3b69aad52b00111d9c04.jpg)
“We’ve always lacked diversity,” Barkley said about Auburn. “I’m doing my part to make sure we are more diverse.”