Like another certain Auburn fan, Charles Barkley doesn’t want Bruce Pearl to leave the Plains and seek to succeed a certain former Auburn coach in the U.S. Senate.

It’s been widely speculated that the Auburn basketball coach may step into the race, most likely as a Republican, to fill the seat slated to be vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.

Pearl has not publicly confirmed (nor denied) the buzz about entering the race, but Tuberville has, selfishly, said he doesn’t want Pearl to run. “I wouldn’t let him do it because he did such a good job at Auburn,” he said on a recent podcast. “We need him there.”

The topic came up in a recent conversation between Pearl and Barkley, says the Auburn alum and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Pearl, who’s built the Tigers into a national power in 11 seasons at Auburn, did not convey whether he’d yet made a decision.

“I respect and trust him. I just told him to do what he wants to do,” Barkley told me Wednesday while on his way to Lake Tahoe to play golf. “Obviously, he’s made Auburn basketball relevant, which makes me happy. I said, ‘Hey, man, as much as I love you being the head basketball coach at Auburn, you taking Auburn to two Final Fours, something I never thought would happen, but I do understand.’

“If he wants to run, I’m gonna support him 100%.”

What Barkley understands is that the new era of revenue-sharing in college sports has changed the game — and changed coaching. He cited several friends who are former college basketball coaches: Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jay Wright (Villanova), Tony Bennett (Virginia), and Jim Larrañaga (Miami), inferring they’re not unhappy about being off the sideline now.

“College sports have changed and have changed for the worse,” Barkley said. “Obviously, this (running for the U.S. Senate) is a unique opportunity. And I don’t know how this thing is going to turn out with college sports. You ask these coaches to go out and beg for $20 million a year for college kids. And basketball’s different than football, where at least you get a guy for three years. In basketball, you pay a great player millions of dollars, and he’s only going to be at your school for six months. I just don’t know how this thing is going to turn out.

“One thing I know about Bruce, he cares about his players,” Barkley continued. “He’s graduated 100% of the players who stayed in school for four years, and he’s proud of that. That was the first conversation we had when he first got the job. I said, ‘Hey, man, I want Auburn to be great in basketball. I really do. But my number one priority is these young Black kids getting their education. You’re gonna have a couple guys who go pro, but most of these guys are gonna have to go out and be grown men. So, I know he cares about people and players.”

Much of the speculation about Pearl seeking a new arena stems from the proliferation of political stances he’s made on social media — he’s got 174,000 followers on X — with most of them revealing his support for Israel and Donald Trump.

That has no sway regarding Barkley’s support for Pearl should he run.

“I’m not a Trump guy, but it’s not up to me to tell people they can’t vote for Trump,” Barkley said. “I don’t know who voted for Trump in my circle, but I’m pretty sure some of them did. I publicly supported Kamala [Harris] and had her husband on my podcast, and so I’m a Kamala guy, but I’m not stupid enough to think some of my rich friends didn’t vote for Trump. I’m not that stupid.”

While Pearl’s name recognition might certainly give him an immediate edge over other announced candidates, including Secretary of State Steve Marshall, there are hurdles. Topping the list is an Alabama Republican Party prohibition on political donations to candidates from opposing parties. Last year, Pearl contributed $1,000 to Democrat Shomari Figures, who won to represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District (the contribution was flagged by the American Israeli Public Affairs political action committee). He also gave $1,000 to North Carolina Democrat and U.S. Rep. Don Davis, who has publicly supported Israel.

State Republican Party bylaws say that any person who supports or donates to an opposing party candidate will be denied space on the state GOP ballot for six years. It would require a three-fourths vote of the state Republican Party’s Steering Committee or Candidate Committee to waive the prohibition to waive that prohibition.

Many believe the committee would not grant such a waiver. Yet, too, Barkley never thought Auburn would reach a Final Four.

“Him leaving would be a devastating blow for Auburn because his charisma and personality are what make Auburn basketball awesome,” Barkley said before pausing. “But I understand.”

Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. My column appears on AL.com, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think at [email protected], and follow me at twitter.com/roysj, Instagram @roysj and BlueSky.