Former NBA star Charles Barkley is thinking about running for governor in his home state of Alabama. Once a Republican, he now says he would run as a Democrat.

In Barkley’s remarks in Destin, he was not complimentary of Alabama’s past leadership.

“If it wasn’t for Arkansas and Mississippi, we’d be dead last in everything. I think we can do better,” he said.

And he’s sounding like Bill Cosby.

Barkley told the school board members that poor children don’t have a level playing field with wealthier students, because the poor children have to cope with more problems like crime, drugs and teen pregnancy. But he also admonished some black parents and their children.

“There are too many black kids and their parents who do not value a good education,” he said. “There are places where a black kid who is a good student and tries to speak correctly, you hear stuff like, ‘He’s trying to be white.’ Well, I say, if that’s true, we need more kids trying to be white.”