NBA legend Charles Barkley continues 'hate train' against Seth Jones, lauds American D-man for bringing diversity to hockey 

NBA legend Charles Barkley made an appearance at Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.

During a pregame interview, Barkley was asked about Seth Jones, the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones, playing hockey in the NHL.

In typical Barkley fashion, he responded with some humor and honesty:

“Well, No. 1, I hate Seth Jones, because his dad is the only man I played against who kicked my a** every single time. To this day, I have no idea why, so I’m going to carry my hatred for Seth Jones from his dad, Popeye," Barkley joked.

He then went on to praise Jones for helping bring diversity to the sport of hockey:

"You know what? It’s so great to see these guys — obviously in the NBA, but Seth becoming a great player — it’s great for hockey. It’s great for young Black kids to see a guy like that. But you know, I just hate it because of his dad. I’m not gonna lie."

Seth Jones is one of the few African-American players in the NHL. His father, Popeye Jones, had a long NBA career as a power forward from 1992 to 2004. It's clear there's some friendly competitiveness still lingering from Popeye's playing days with Barkley back in the 90s.

Game 6 Updates: Oilers down 3-0 against Seth Jones' Panthers in second period

The Edmonton Oilers are facing elimination as they trail the Florida Panthers 3-0 after the second period in Game 6.

The Panthers opened the scoring when Sam Reinhart capitalized on a miscue by Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard. Reinhart snatched the puck and fired it past Stuart Skinner's glove.

Later in the first, Bouchard turned the puck over at the blue line, setting up a dangerous odd-man rush that Matthew Tkachuk finished with a clean strike, making it 2-0 for Florida.

The Panthers added to their third late in the second period after Carter Verhaeghe made a shot at Stuart Skinner leaving a loose rebound in the crease. Aleksander Barkov then gave the puck to Reinhart, who deflected it off his skate going into the net.

Trailing 3-2 in the series, the Oilers need a win in Game 6 to force a Game 7 back home at Rogers Place.

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Edited by Veer Badani