Charles Barkley

Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT Sports and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Chuckster", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Though shorter than the typical power forward, he used his strength and aggression to become one of the NBA's best rebounders and scorers. Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and the 1993 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

An All-American at Auburn University, Barkley was drafted as a junior by the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth pick of the 1984 NBA draft. In his rookie season, Barkley was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1985. In the 1986–87 season, Barkley led the league in rebounding average and earned his first rebounding title. He was named the All-Star Game MVP in 1991, and in 1993 with the Phoenix Suns, he was voted the league's MVP while leading the team to the NBA Finals. He also competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, winning two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. In 2000, Barkley retired as the fourth player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists. Barkley is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted in 2006 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team".

Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league. He was frequently involved in on- and off-court fights and sometimes stirred national controversy, such as in March 1991 when he spat on a young girl while attempting to spit at a heckler, and 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models. Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a successful career as an NBA analyst. He works for TNT Sports on Inside the NBA alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson as a studio pundit (for which he has won five Sports Emmy Awards). and has shown an interest in politics.

Early life

Barkley was born in Leeds, Alabama, east of Birmingham, and grew up there. He was the first black baby born at a segregated, all-white town hospital and was in the first group of black students at his elementary school. His parents divorced when he was young after his father abandoned the family, which included younger brother Darryl Barkley. His mother remarried and they had a son, John Glenn. Another brother, Rennie, died in infancy. His stepfather was killed in an accident when Charles was 11 years old.

Barkley attended Leeds High School. As a junior, he stood and weighed . He failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve. However, during the summer Barkley grew to and earned a starting position on the varsity as a senior. He averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game and led his team to a 26–3 record en route to the state semi-finals. An assistant to Auburn University's head coach, Sonny Smith, was at the game and reported seeing, "a fat guy... who can play like the wind". Barkley was soon recruited by Smith and majored in business management while attending Auburn University.

During his college career, Barkley played center, despite being shorter than the average center. His height, officially listed as , is stated as in his book, I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It. He became a member of Auburn's All-Century team and still holds the Auburn record for career field goal percentage with 62.6%. Later, Barkley was named the SEC Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the Birmingham Post-Herald.

In Barkley's three-year college career, he averaged 14.1 points on 62.6% field goal shooting, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. Auburn retired Barkley's No. 34 jersey on March 3, 2001. Barkley made the initial cut in April to the final 20, but was one of four released in May (with John Stockton, Terry Porter, and Maurice Martin) in the penultimate cut to 16 players. In 2010, Barkley admitted that he asked for and had been given, money from sports agents during his career at Auburn. Barkley called the sums he had requested from agents "chump change", and went on to say, "Why can't an agent lend me some money and I'll pay him back when I graduate?" According to Barkley, he paid back all of the money he had borrowed after signing his first NBA contract.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992)

Barkley left before his final year at Auburn and made himself eligible for the 1984 NBA draft. He was selected with the fifth pick in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, two slots after the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan. He joined a veteran team that included Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Maurice Cheeks, players who had taken Philadelphia to the 1983 NBA championship. Under the tutelage of Malone, Barkley was able to manage his weight and learned to prepare and condition himself properly for a game; Barkley cited Malone as the most influential player of his career, and he often referred to him as "Dad". He averaged 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned a berth on the All-Rookie Team. As a rookie in the postseason, Barkley averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. On March 20, 1987, Barkley recorded 26 points, 25 rebounds (including a career-high-tying 16 offensive rebounds), and nine assists in a 116–106 win over the Denver Nuggets. He earned his first and only rebounding title, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game, and also led the league in offensive rebounds with 5.7 per game. for the second straight year, to the Bucks in a five-game first-round playoff series.

The next season, Julius Erving announced his retirement and Barkley became the Sixers' franchise player.

During the 1989–90 season, despite receiving more first-place votes, Barkley finished second in MVP voting behind the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson. He was named Player of the Year by The Sporting News and Basketball Weekly. Barkley averaged 24.7 points and 15.5 rebounds in another postseason loss. In the playoffs, Philadelphia lost again to Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, with Barkley contributing 24.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. who had announced prior to the start of the season that he was HIV-positive. Although the 76ers had initially retired the number 32 in honor of Billy Cunningham, it was unretired, with Cunningham's approval, for Barkley to wear. After Johnson's announcement, Barkley apologized for having made light of his condition. Responding to concerns that players may contract HIV by contact with Johnson, Barkley expressed his opinion, "We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic."

In his final season with the Sixers, averaging 23.1 points on .552 shooting and 11.1 rebounds per game, Barkley was initially traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before the end of the season, but the 76ers wound up retracting their deal a few hours later. On July 17, 1992, he was officially traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang.

Spitting incident

On March 26, 1991, during a game versus the New Jersey Nets, Barkley attempted to spit on a fan who was allegedly heckling him with racial slurs, but the result was that his spit hit a young girl. Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of operations at the time, suspended Barkley, without pay, for one game and fined him $10,000 for spitting and for verbally abusing the fan. It became a national story, and Barkley was vilified for it.

After retirement, Barkley was later quoted saying in regard to his career, "I was fairly controversial, I guess, but I regret only one thing–the spitting incident. But you know what? It taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that I was getting way too intense during the game. It let me know I wanted to win way too bad. I had to calm down. I wanted to win at all costs. Instead of playing the game the right way and respecting the game, I only thought about winning."

Phoenix Suns (1992–1996)

The trade to Phoenix in the 1992–93 season went well for both Barkley and the Suns. Suns player Negele Knight already wore No. 32, so Barkley reverted his jersey number back to 34. In his first game with the Suns, Barkley almost recorded a triple-double, racking up 37 points, 21 rebounds (12 of them offensive), and 8 assists in a 111–105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 25.6 points on .520 shooting, 12.2 rebounds and a career-high 5.1 assists per game, For his efforts, Barkley won the league's Most Valuable Player Award, and was selected to play in his seventh straight All-Star Game. He became the third player ever to win league MVP honors in the season immediately after being traded, established multiple career highs and led Phoenix to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1976. He averaged 26.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game during the whole postseason, In the fourth game of the Finals, Barkley recorded a triple-double, collecting 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

As a result of severe back pains, Barkley began to speculate that the 1993–94 season would be his last in Phoenix. In the NBA, Barkley managed 21.6 points on .495 shooting and 11.2 rebounds per game. the Suns lost in seven games to the eventual champions, the Houston Rockets, who were led by Hakeem Olajuwon. In the playoffs, despite having a 3–1 lead in the series, After the Suns closed out the season with a 41–41 record and a first-round playoff loss, Barkley was traded to Houston in exchange for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown.

During his career with the Suns, Barkley excelled, earning All-NBA and All-Star honors in each of his four seasons.

Role model controversy

Throughout his career, Barkley argued that athletes should not be considered role models. In 1993, his argument prompted national news when he wrote the text for his "I am not a role model" Nike commercial. Dan Quayle, the former Vice President of the United States, called it a "family-values message" for Barkley's oft-ignored call for parents and teachers to quit looking to him to "raise your kids" and instead be role models themselves. In his first game with the Houston Rockets, Barkley had a career-high 33 rebounds. He continued to battle injuries throughout the season and played only 53 games, missing 14 because of a laceration and bruise on his left pelvis, 11 because of a sprained right ankle, and four due to suspensions.

The 1997–98 season was another injury-plagued year for Barkley. He averaged 15.2 points on .485 shooting and 11.7 rebounds per game. In his last postseason appearance, Barkley averaged 23.5 points on .529 shooting and 13.8 rebounds per game in a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 1999–2000 season was Barkley's final year in the NBA. Initially, Barkley averaged 14.5 points on .477 shooting and 10.5 rebounds per game. Barkley's season and career seemingly ended prematurely at the age of 36 after rupturing his left quadriceps tendon on December 8, 1999, in Philadelphia, where his career began. Refusing to allow his injury to be the last image of his career, Barkley returned after four months for one final game. On April 19, 2000, in a home game against the Vancouver Grizzlies, Barkley scored a memorable basket on an offensive rebound and putback, a common trademark during his career. He accomplished what he set out to do after being activated from the injured list, and walked off the court to a standing ovation. After the basket, Barkley immediately retired and concluded his sixteen-year Hall of Fame career.

Olympics

Barkley was invited by Bob Knight to try out for United States men's basketball team for the 1984 Summer Olympics. He made it all the way to final cuts, but was not selected for the team, despite outplaying almost all of the front-court players there. According to Knight, Barkley was cut because of poor defense.

Barkley competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States men's basketball team. International rules that previously prevented NBA players from playing in the Olympics were changed in 1992, allowing Barkley and fellow NBA players to compete in the Olympics for the first time. The team was nicknamed the "Dream Team" and went 6–0 in the Olympic qualifying tournament and 8–0 against Olympic opponents. The team averaged an Olympic record 117.3 points a game and won games by an average of 43.8 points, only surpassed by the 1956 U.S. Olympic team. Barkley led the team with 18.0 points on 71.1% field goal shooting and set a then-Olympic single-game scoring record with 30 points in a 127–83 victory over Brazil. During the game versus Angola, Barkley elbowed Herlander Coimbra in the chest and was unapologetic after the game, claiming he was hit first. Barkley was called for an intentional foul on the play. Coimbra's resulting free throw was the only point scored by Angola during a 46–1 run by the U.S.

At the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Barkley led the team in scoring, rebounds, and field goal percentage. He averaged 12.4 points on 81.6% field goal shooting, setting a U.S. Men's Olympic record.

Player profile

Barkley played the power forward position, but occasionally played small forward and center. He was known for his unusual build as a basketball player, stockier than most small forwards, yet shorter than most power forwards he faced. However, Barkley was still capable of outplaying both taller and quicker opponents because of his unusual combination of strength and agility. His tenacious and aggressive form of play built into an undersized frame that fluctuated between and helped cement his legacy as one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, averaging 11.7 rebounds per game in the regular season for his career and 12.9 rebounds per game in his playoff career and totaling 12,546 rebounds for his season career. and leader of the highest all-time steal per game average for the power forward position. His speed and leaping ability made him one of the few power forwards capable of running down court to block a faster player with a chase-down block. Although his words often led to controversy, according to Barkley his mouth was never the cause because it always spoke the truth. and also for throwing a man through a plate-glass window in Orlando, after being struck with a glass of ice. Barkley continues to be popular with the fans and media.

As a player, Barkley was a perennial All-Star who earned league MVP honors in 1993. He was named to the All-NBA team eleven times and earned two gold medals as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team. He led both teams in scoring and was instrumental in helping the 1992 "Dream Team" and 1996 Men's Basketball team compile a perfect 16–0 record.

In 1996, Barkley, as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary, was honored as one of the 50 greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team. In recognition of his collegiate and NBA achievements, Barkley's number 34 jersey was officially retired by Auburn University on March 3, 2001. In the same month, the Philadelphia 76ers also officially retired Barkley's number 34 jersey. On March 20, 2004, the Phoenix Suns honored Barkley as well by including him in the "Suns Ring of Honor". In recognition of his achievements as a player, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. To commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Barkley as the 22nd greatest player in NBA history.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

| style="text-align:left;"|1984–85

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 82 || 60 || 28.6 || .545 || .167 || .733 || 8.6 || 1.9 || 1.2 || 1.0 || 14.0

| style="text-align:left;"|

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 80 || 80 || 36.9 || .572 || .227 || .685 || 12.8 || 3.9 || 2.2 || 1.6 || 20.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1986–87

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 68 || 62 || 40.3 || .594 || .202 || .761 || style="background:#cfecec;"|14.6* || 4.9 || 1.8 || 1.5 ||23.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1987–88

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 80 || 80 || 39.6 || .587 || .280 || .751 || 11.9 || 3.2 || 1.3 || 1.3 || 28.3

| style="text-align:left;"|1988–89

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 79 || 79 || 39.1 || .579 || .216 || .753 || 12.5 || 4.1 || 1.6 || .9 || 25.8

| style="text-align:left;"|1989–90

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 79 || 79 || 39.1 || .600 || .217 || .749 || 11.5 || 3.9 || 1.9 || .6 || 25.2

| style="text-align:left;"|1990–91

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 67 || 67 || 37.3 || .570 || .284 || .722 || 10.1 || 4.2 || 1.6 || .5 || 27.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1991–92

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 75 || 75 || 38.4 || .552 || .234 || .695 || 11.1 || 4.1 || 1.8 || .6 || 23.1

| style="text-align:left;"|1992–93

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 76 || 76 || 37.6 || .520 || .305 || .765 || 12.2 || 5.1 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 25.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1993–94

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 65 || 65 || 35.4 || .495 || .270 || .704 || 11.2 || 4.6 || 1.6 || .6 || 21.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1994–95

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 68 || 68 || 35.0 || .486 || .338 || .748 || 11.1 || 4.1 || 1.6 || .7 || 23.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1995–96

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 71 || 71 || 37.1 || .500 || .280 || .777 || 11.6 || 3.7 || 1.6 || .8 || 23.2

| style="text-align:left;"|1996–97

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 53 || 53 || 37.9 || .484 || .283 || .694 || 13.5 || 4.7 || 1.3 || .5 || 19.2

| style="text-align:left;"|1997–98

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 68 || 41 || 33.0 || .485 || .214 || .746 || 11.7 || 3.2 || 1.0 || .4 || 15.2

| style="text-align:left;"|1998–99

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 42 || 40 || 36.3 || .478 || .160 || .719 || 12.3 || 4.6 || 1.0 || .3 || 16.1

| style="text-align:left;"|1999–00

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 20 || 18 || 31.0 || .477 || .231 || .645 || 10.5 || 3.2 || .7 || .2 || 14.5

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career

| 1,073 || 1,012 || 36.7 || .541 || .266 || .735 || 11.7 || 3.9 || 1.5 || .8 || 22.1

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|All-Star

| 11 || 7 || 23.2 || .495 || .250 || .625 || 6.7 || 1.8 || 1.3 || .4 || 12.6

Playoffs

| style="text-align:left;"|1985

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 13 || 2 || 31.4 || .540 || .667 || .733 || 11.1 || 2.0 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 14.9

| style="text-align:left;"|1986

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 12 || 12 || 41.4 || .578 || .067 || .695 || 15.8|| 5.6 || 2.3 || 1.3 || 25.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1987

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 5 || 5 || 42.0 || .573 || .125 || .800|| 12.6 || 2.4 || .8 || 1.6 || 24.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1989

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 3 || 3|| 45.0 || .644 || .200 || .710 || 11.7 || 5.3 || 1.7 || .7 || 27.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1990

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 10 || 10 || 41.9 || .543 || .333 || .602 || 15.5 || 4.3 || .8 || .7 || 24.7

| style="text-align:left;"|1991

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia

| 8 || 8 || 40.8 || .592 || .100 || .653 || 10.5 || 6.0|| 1.9|| .4 || 24.9

| style="text-align:left;"|1993

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 24 || 24|| 42.8 || .477 || .222 || .771 || 13.6 || 4.3 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 26.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1994

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 10 || 10 || 42.5 || .509 || .350 || .764 || 13.0 || 4.8 || 2.5 || .9|| 27.6

| style="text-align:left;"|1995

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 10 || 10 || 39.0 || .500 || .257 || .733 || 13.4 || 3.2 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 25.7

| style="text-align:left;"|1996

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| 4 || 4 || 41.0 || .443 || .250 || .787 || 13.5 || 3.8 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 25.5

| style="text-align:left;"|1997

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 16 || 16 || 37.8 || .434 || .289 || .769 || 12.0 || 3.4 || 1.2 || .4 || 17.9

| style="text-align:left;"|1998

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 4 || 0 || 21.8 || .522 || .000 || .571 || 5.3 || 1.0 || 1.3 || .0 || 9.0

| style="text-align:left;"|1999

| style="text-align:left;"|Houston

| 4 || 4 || 39.3 || .529 || .286 || .667 || 13.8 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .5 || 23.5

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career

| 123 || 108 || 39.4 || .513 || .255 || .717 || 12.9 || 3.9 || 1.6 || .9 || 23.0

NBA records

Regular season

Most offensive rebounds in a half: 13, Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks, March 4, 1987

Most offensive rebounds in a quarter: 11, Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks,

Tied with Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets, )

Shortest player to lead the league in rebounds: at 6’6"

Playoffs

Most free throws made in a half: 19, Phoenix Suns vs. Seattle SuperSonics,

Most free throw attempts in a 7-game series: 100, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1986 Eastern Conference Semi-finals

Most turnovers in a 7-game series: 37, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1986 Eastern Conference Semi-finals

Television

Sports analyst

thumb|260px|Barkley on [[Inside the NBA on location at San Francisco's Pier 43 for the NBA season opening day in late October 2015.]]

Since 2000, Barkley has served as a studio analyst for Turner Network Television (TNT). He appears on the network's NBA coverage during pre-game and halftime shows, in addition to special NBA events. He also occasionally works as an onsite game analyst. He is part of the crew on Inside the NBA, a post-game show during which Barkley, Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal recap and comment on NBA games that have occurred during the day and also on general NBA affairs.

During the broadcast of a game, in which Barkley was courtside with Marv Albert, Barkley poked fun at NBA official Dick Bavetta's age. Albert replied to Barkley, "I believe Dick would beat you in a footrace." In response to that remark, Barkley went on to challenge Bavetta to a race at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend for $5,000. The winner was to choose a charity to which the money would be donated. The NBA agreed to pitch in an additional $50,000, and TNT threw in $25,000. The pair raced for three and a half lengths of the basketball court until Barkley ultimately won. After the event, the two kissed in a show of good sportsmanship.

Barkley was also known for being the first-ever celebrity guest picker for College GameDay, in 2004.

Since 2011, Barkley has served as a studio analyst for the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament between Turner Sports and CBS. Barkley has broadcast every Final Four since 2011.

He also served as a guest commentator for NBC's coverage of the NFL Wild Card playoffs on January 7, 2012; the same night he hosted Saturday Night Live, which is taped next door to the Football Night in America studio in Manhattan's GE Building.

Barkley announced in November 2012 that he was contemplating retirement from broadcasting. "[N]ow I'm like, 'Dude, you have been doing this for 13 years and if I make it to the end of the contract, it will be 17 years.' Seventeen years is a long time. It's a lifetime in broadcasting. I personally have to figure out the next challenge for me", he said. He later stated that he wanted to retire when he turned 60 in 2023.

In October 2022, Barkley signed a 10-year contract extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, owner of TNT, to remain as an analyst on Inside the NBA.

In June 2024, Barkley also was a guest of Game 2 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final as a Studio analyst broadcast by ABC, and produced by ESPN.

In June 2024, Barkley announced his intention to retire from television following the conclusion of the 2024–25 NBA season. He later reversed this decision in August, deciding to stay with TNT Sports on his ten-year, $210 million contract.

In 2025, Inside the NBA moved to ESPN.

Other television work

From 2002 to 2003, Barkley hosted a sports and general topics talk show with guests on TNT called Listen Up! Charles Barkley with Ernie Johnson. In July 2016, it was announced that Barkley would host a six-episode unscripted show called The Race Card. The show was renamed to American Race, and premiered on TNT on May 11, 2017.

In the fall of 2023, Barkley would begin co-hosting a news discussion program called King Charles alongside Gayle King on CNN. It was a limited-run series that aired on Wednesdays at 10pm. King Charles ended in April the following year.

Personal life

A DNA test read by George Lopez on Lopez Tonight revealed Barkley's ancestry to be of 14% Native American, 11% European, and 75% African descent.

Marriage and family

Barkley and Maureen Blumhardt reportedly first met in the mid to late 1980s when Barkley was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. They got married in 1989. Barkley and Maureen reside in Scottsdale, Arizona. His wife is an honorary member of the Phoenix-based Fresh Start Women's Foundation organization. Their daughter was born in 1989.

Gambling

Barkley is known for his compulsive gambling. In a 2007 interview with ESPN's Trey Wingo, Barkley revealed that he had lost approximately $10 million through gambling.

Despite suffering big losses, Barkley also claims to have won on several occasions. During a trip to Las Vegas, he claims to have won $700,000 from playing blackjack and betting on the Indianapolis Colts to defeat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. He went on to state, however, "No matter how much I win, it ain't a lot. It's only a lot when I lose. And you always lose. I think it's fun, I think it's exciting. I'm gonna continue to do it, but I have to get to a point where I don't try to break the casino 'cause you never can." After repaying his debt, Barkley stated during a pregame show on TNT, "I've got to stop gambling... I am not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I'm not going to gamble... Just because I can afford to lose money doesn't mean I should do it."

Golf

Barkley began playing golf during his NBA career, later staying with the sport as it was a way to remain in competition after his basketball career ended. He is a regular competitor at the American Century Championship pro-am tournament, regularly finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard. He is widely regarded as a poor golfer with a particularly bad swing; he later underwent training to improve his swing, which led to an improved performance in the 2021 American Century Championship.

Barkley participated in Champions for Change, the third iteration of The Match. As part of a team with Phil Mickelson, Barkley pulled off a major upset defeating Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry by a score of 4–3.

Politics

thumb|Barkley with President [[Barack Obama at the White House]]

Barkley spoke for many years of his Republican Party affiliation. In 1995, he considered running as a Republican candidate for Alabama's governorship in the 1998 election. However, in 2006, he altered his political stance, stating "I was a Republican until they lost their minds." At a July 2006 meeting of the Southern Regional Conference of the National School Boards Association in Destin, Florida, Barkley lent credence to the idea of running for Governor of Alabama, stating: <blockquote>I'm serious. I've got to get people to realize that the government is full of it. Republicans and Democrats want to argue over stuff that's not important, like gay marriage or the war in Iraq or illegal immigration... When I run—if I run—we're going to talk about real issues like improving our schools, cleaning up our neighborhoods of drugs and crime and making Alabama a better place for all people.</blockquote>

In September 2006, Barkley once again reiterated his desire to run for governor. He noted, "I can't run until 2014 ... I have to live there for seven years, so I'm looking for a house there as we speak." In July 2007, he made a video declaring his support for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. In September 2007, during a broadcast on Monday Night Football, Barkley announced that he bought a house in Alabama to satisfy residency requirements for a 2014 campaign for governor. In addition, Barkley declared himself an Independent and not a Democrat as previously reported. "The Republicans are full of it", Barkley said, "The Democrats are a little less full of it." In 2010, he confirmed that he was not running in 2014. On Lance Armstrong's podcast in 2019, he confirmed that he would not be running for office.

Barkley supports LGBT rights. In 2006, he told Fox Sports: "I'm a big advocate of gay marriage. If they want to get married, God bless them." Speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN two years later, he said: "Every time I hear the word 'conservative,' it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are. ... I think they want to be judge and jury. Like, I'm for gay marriage. It's none of my business if gay people want to get married. I'm pro-choice. And I think these Christians, first of all, they're not supposed to judge other people. But they're the most hypocritical judge of people we have in the country. And it bugs the hell out of me. They act like they're Christians. They're not forgiving at all." In 2013, in response to Celtics player Jason Collins coming out, Barkley stated, “I think anybody who thinks they never played with a gay player is an idiot." In 2022, a video surfaced of Barkley speaking at an event where he made comments vehemently in favor of the LGBTQ community: "I want to say this. If you're gay and transgender, I love you. And if anybody gives you shit, you tell them Charles said 'fuck you.'" He spoke out against the 2023 Bud Light boycott in the United States, mainly by conservatives who oppose the brand's endorsements by transgender actress Dylan Mulvaney; he said that he would buy Bud Light for the crowd at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, and condemned the boycotters as "rednecks".

Commenting on the Ferguson unrest, Barkley called the Ferguson looters "scumbags", praised the police officers who work in black neighborhoods, and said that he supports the decision made by the grand jury not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting. Previously, in 2013, Barkley expressed his agreement with the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin shooting.</blockquote>

Barkley has also been known as a critic of President Donald Trump from as early as his Republican nomination in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Before Trump won the Republican primaries that year, Barkley stated his disgust towards the words and messages that Trump was promoting throughout the presidential race. In September 2017, when President Trump called out former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his kneeling during the U.S. National Anthem during the 2016 NFL season, Barkley expressed his complete disappointment in President Trump (however, Barkley has stated that he does not support athletes kneeling during the National Anthem as a form of protest). In December 2017, Barkley mocked President Trump's tax bill, stating "Thank you Republicans, I knew I could always count on y'all to take care of us rich people, us one percenters. Sorry, poor people. I'm hoping for y'all, but y'all ain't got no chance."

In his response to the controversy generated by the removal of Confederate monuments as highlighted by the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Barkley stated:

thumb|Congresswoman [[Terri Sewell and Charles Barkley at Doug Jones' election night party in 2017.]]

Barkley supported Democrat Doug Jones in the 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama. During Alabama's Senate election, Barkley argued that Jones' competitor, Roy Moore, should have been disqualified: "How can you have a guy who's running with a white separatist running for a political office?"

While Barkley supports police and prison reforms, he spoke out against defunding the police in 2020, saying "Who are black people supposed to call? The Ghostbusters?". After the killing of Breonna Taylor, Barkley said that "I feel sad that this young lady lost her life.", but added that "we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop.", making her situation not "like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery".

Also in 2020, Barkley expressed concern that sports were becoming too political, saying that "My concern is turning this into a circus instead of trying to do some good stuff." and that "The last thing they want to do is turn on the television and hear arguments all the time."

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Barkley said that "You'd have to be a fool to think your kids will be safe in school right now", but argued that keeping children at home would widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

Books

In 1991, Barkley and sportswriter Roy S. Johnson collaborated on the autobiographical work Outrageous. Editorial choices made by Johnson in the book led to Barkley famously quipping that he had been misquoted in his own autobiography. In 2000, Barkley wrote the foreword for Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly's book The Life of Reilly. In it, Barkley quipped, "Of all the people in sports I'd like to throw through a plate glass window, Reilly's not one of them. It's a shame though, skinny white boys look real aerodynamic." In 2002, Barkley released the book I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It, which included editing and commentary by close friend Michael Wilbon. Three years later, Barkley released Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?, which is a collection of interviews with leading figures in entertainment, business, sports, and government. Michael Wilbon also contributed to this book and was present at many of the interviews. Barkley hosted Saturday Night Live on four separate occasions between 1993 and 2018.

DUI conviction

On December 31, 2008, Barkley was pulled over in Scottsdale for running a stop sign. Gilbert police noted Barkley was cooperative and respectful during the entire incident, adding that he was treated no differently than anyone arrested on DUI charges. Test results released by the police showed that Barkley had a blood-alcohol level at .149, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 in Arizona. Two months after his arrest, Barkley pleaded guilty to two DUI-related counts and one count of running a red light. He was sentenced to ten days in jail and fined $2,000. The sentence was later reduced to three days after Barkley entered an alcohol treatment program.

As part of the fallout of his arrest, Barkley took a two-month hiatus from his commentating duties for TNT. During his absence, T-Mobile elected not to air previously scheduled ads that featured Barkley. On February 19, 2009, Barkley returned to TNT and spent the first segment of the NBA pregame show discussing the incident and his experiences. Shortly after his return, T-Mobile once again began airing ads featuring Barkley.

WeightWatchers

In 2011, Barkley became a spokesman for WeightWatchers, promoting their "Lose Like a Man" program and appearing in both television and online ads.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Charles Barkley: NBA.com Historical Biography

Charles Barkley article, Encyclopedia of Alabama; ()

Early life

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992)

Spitting incident

Phoenix Suns (1992–1996)

Role model controversy

Olympics

Player profile

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA records

Regular season

Playoffs

Television

Sports analyst

Other television work

Personal life

Marriage and family

Gambling

Golf

Politics

Books

DUI conviction

WeightWatchers

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links