Charles Barkley

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Charles Barkley
Position Power forward
Nickname "Sir Charles",
"The Round Mound of Rebound"
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight 252 lb (115 kg)
Nationality Flag of United States United States
Born February 20, 1963 (age 44)
Leeds, Alabama
College Auburn University
Draft 5th overall, 1984
Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career 1984–2000
Former teams Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992)
Phoenix Suns (1992–1996)
Houston Rockets (1996–2000)
Awards NBA MVP (1993)
All-Star MVP (1991)
11-time All-Star
All-NBA First Team (1988–'91, '93)
All-NBA Second Team (1986, '97, '92, '94, '95)
All-NBA Third Team (1996)
All-Rookie Team (1984)
Olympic gold medalist (1992, '96)
One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
Hall of Fame 2006

Charles Wade Barkley born February 20, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. Commonly nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound," Barkley established himself as one of the most dominating power forwards in the history of the NBA. He was selected to both the All-NBA First Team and All-NBA Second Team five times, and All-NBA Third Team once. In 1993, he was voted Most Valuable Player and during the NBA's 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games, and won two gold medals as a member of the United States' Dream Team. In 2006, his achievements were solidified after being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

An eleven time NBA All-Star, and former All-Star game MVP, Barkley was known for his aggressive play and outspoken demeanor. He was popular with fans and the media, and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for each of his last thirteen seasons in the league.[1] His tenacity and strength made him one of the most dominant rebounders in the league, despite his relative lack of height for playing the power forward position. He was one of the most versatile players, with the ability to score, rebound, assist, and defend. In 2000, he retired as one of only four players in NBA history to accumulate at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists in their career.[2]

After retiring as a player, Barkley became a highly successful color commentator on the sport of basketball. He currently works with Turner Network Television (TNT) as a studio analyst for their coverage of NBA games.

Contents

[edit] High school

Barkley was born and raised in Leeds, a small suburb just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, and attended Leeds High School. He set several school records there, but was not heavily recruited due to his rotund build. Auburn University offered a scholarship, and he enrolled there in 1981. One of the school's outdoor basketball courts carries the name "Charles Barkley Court" on a backboard in his honor.

[edit] College

Barkley played collegiate basketball at Auburn University for three years. Although he struggled with weight problems, sometimes weighing over 300 pounds (136 kg), he excelled as a player and lead the league in rebounding each year. His physical size and skills ultimately earned him the nickname, "The Round Mound of Rebound."[3] During his three years at Auburn, Barkley was a crowd-pleaser, exciting the fans with dunks and blocked shots that belied his lack of height and supposedly overweight frame. He was known for his ability to rebound and, instead of passing, dribble the ball the entire length of the court and finish with a powerful two-handed dunk.

During his college career, Barkley played the center position, despite being significantly shorter than the average center. His height, frequently listed as 6 ft 6 in, is actually, as stated in his book, "I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It," closer to 6 ft 4 in. He received numerous awards, including South Eastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year (1984), two All-SEC (1983-84) selections, two Second Team All-SEC (1982-83) selections, and one Third Team All American selection (1984).[4]

In Barkley's three year college career, he averaged 13.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 bpg, and 62.6% shooting from the field.[5] In 1984, he made his only appearance in the NCAA Tournament, finishing with 23 points on 80% field goal shooting, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.[4]

[edit] NBA career

[edit] Philadelphia 76ers

After his junior year in college, Barkley forewent his final year at Auburn University 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, which included Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Maurice Cheeks; players who took Philadelphia to the 1983 NBA championship.[1] Under the tutelage of Moses Malone, Barkley was able to manage his ongoing weight problems, and learned to prepare and condition himself properly for a game. He averaged 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned a berth on the All-Rookie Team.[2] In the postseason, the Sixers advanced into the Eastern Conference Finals but were defeated in five games by the Boston Celtics.[6] As a rookie in the postseason, Barkley averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.[1]

During his sophmore year, Barkley became the Sixers leading rebounder and number two scorer, averaging 20.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.[2] He became the starter for the Sixers power forward position and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.[1] He helped lead his team into the playoffs and averaged 25.0 points on 57.8% shooting from the field and 15.8 rebounds.[2] Despite his efforts, Philadelphia was eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks, four games to three, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the 1986-87 season, with Moses Malone being traded to the Washington Bullets and Julius Erving closing out on his career,[1] Barkley began to assume control as the team leader. He earned his first rebounding title, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game, and also lead the league in offensive rebounds with 5.7 per game.[2] He averaged 23.0 points on 59.4% shooting from the field,[2] earning his first trip to an NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Second Team honors for the second straight season. In the playoffs, Barkley averaged 24.6 points and 12.6 rebounds[5] in a losing effort, for the second straight year, to the Bucks in a five-game first round playoff series.[7]

The following season, Julius Erving announced his retirement and Barkley became the team's foundation.[1] His fourth year was also his most productive, averaging 28.3 points on 58.7% field goal shooting, with 11.9 rebounds per game.[2] He played 80 games and 3,170 minutes, 300 more than his nearest teammate.[2] He appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. However, the 76ers failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1974-75 season.[1] In the 1988-89 season, Barkley averaged 25.8 points on 57.9% shooting with 12.5 rebounds per game.[2] He made his third straight All-Star Game appearance and was named to the All-NBA First team for the second straight season. Unfortunately, no other 76ers player ranked in the league's top ten in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, or blocked shots, and his team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks.[1]

During the 1989-90 season, despite receiving more first-place votes,[8] Barkley finished second in MVP voting behind the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson, and was named Player of the Year by both The Sporting News and Basketball Weekly.[1] He averaged 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and a career high 60% field-goal percentage.[2] That season, a total of 51 NBA players did not shoot as well from the free-throw line as Barkley did from the field.[1] He was named to the All-NBA First Team for the third consectuive year, on route to his fourth All-Star selection. He helped Philadelphia win 53 regular season games, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls in a five-game Eastern Conference Semifinals series.[9] Barkley averaged 24.7 points and 15.5 rebounds in another postseason loss.[5] His exceptional play continued into his seventh season, where he averaged 27.6 points on 57% field goal shooting and 10.1 rebounds per game.[2] His fifth straight All-Star Game appearance proved to be his best yet. He led the East to a 116-114 win over the West with 17 points and 22 rebounds, the most rebounds in an All-Star Game since Wilt Chamberlain recorded 22 in 1967.[1] For his efforts, Barkley was presented with Most Valuable Player honors at the All-Star Game, and at the end of the season, named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth straight year.[1] In the postseason, Philadelphia again lost to Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Barkley contributing 24.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.[5]

The 1991-92 season was Barkley's final year in Philadelphia. In his last season, he wore number 32 instead of his 34 to honor Magic Johnson,[10] who announced prior to the start of the season that he was HIV-positive. Although the 76ers had retired the number 32 in honor of Billy Cunningham, it was then un-retired for Barkley to wear. Following Johnson's announcement, Barkley also apologized for having made light of Johnson's condition. Responding to concerns that players may contract HIV by contact with Johnson, Barkley had flippantly stated, "We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic."[11]

In his final season with the Sixers, averaging 23.1 points on 55.2% shooting and 11.1 rebounds per game,[2] Barkley earned his sixth straight All-Star appearance and was named to the All-NBA Second Team; his seventh straight appearance on either the first or second team. He ended his 76ers career ranked fourth in team history in total points (14,184), third in scoring average (23.3 ppg), third in rebounds (7,079), eighth in assists (2,276), and second in field-goal percentage (.576).[1] He led Philadelphia in rebounding and field-goal percentage for seven consecutive seasons and in scoring for six straight years.[2] However, after several early-round playoff defeats, and with the Sixers failing to make the postseason in the 1991-92 season, Barkley demanded a trade out of Philadelphia.[3] On July 17, 1992, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.[12]

During Barkley's eight seasons in Philadelphia, he became a household name, and was one of the few NBA players to have a figure published by Kenner's Starting Lineup toy line and also had his own signature shoe line with Nike. However, his outspoken and aggressive play also caused a few scandals, notoriously a fight with Detroit Pistons center Bill Laimbeer in 1990, an event which drew record fines,[13] and the infamous spitting incident.

[edit] Spitting incident

In March of 1991, during an overtime game in New Jersey, a courtside heckler had been yelling racial epithets throughout the game at Barkley.[14] Upset by the heckler's remarks, Barkley turned to spit at him, but, as he later described, didn't "get enough foam," missed and mistakenly spat on a young girl.[14] Rod Thorn, the then-NBA's president of operations, suspended Barkley without pay and fined him $10,000 for spitting and using abusive language at the fan.[15] It became a national story and Barkley was vilified for it.[14] However, Barkley eventually developed a friendship with the girl and her family.[3] He apologized, and among other things, provided tickets to future games.[16]

Upon retirement, Barkley was later quoted as stating, "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."[17]

[edit] Phoenix Suns

The trade to Phoenix in the 1992-93 season went well for both Barkley and the Suns. He averaged 25.6 points on 52% shooting, 12.2 rebounds, and a career high 5.1 assists per game,[2]leading the Suns to an NBA best 62-20 record. For his efforts, Barkley won the league's Most Valuable Player Award and was named to his seventh straight All-Star appearance. 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.[1] Despite Barkley's proclamation to Jordan, stating it was destiny for the Suns to win the title, the Suns were defeated in six games by the Bulls. He averaged 26.6 points and 13.6 rebounds during the postseason.[5]

As a result of severe back pains, Barkley began to speculate his last year in Phoenix during the 1993-94 season.[1] Playing through the worst injury problems of his career,[1] Barkley managed 21.6 points on 49.5% shooting and 11.2 rebounds per game.[2] He was selected to his eighth consecutive All-Star game, but did not play because of a torn right quadriceps tendon,[1] and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. With Barkley fighting injuries, the Suns still managed a 56-26 record and made it to the Western Conference Semifinals. But despite holding a 2-0 lead in the series,[18] the Suns lost in seven games to the eventual champion Houston Rockets.[18] Despite his injuries, in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Barkley hit 23 of 31 field-goal attempts and finished with 56 points, a then-third-highest total ever in a playoff game.[1][5] After contemplating retirement in the offseason,[1] Barkley returned for his eleventh season and continued to battle injuries.[3] He struggled during the first half of the season,[1] but managed to gradually improve, earning his ninth consecutive appearance in the All-Star Game. He averaged 23 points on 48.6% field goal shooting and 11.1 rebounds per game,[2] while leading the Suns to a 59-23 record.[19] In the postseason, despite having a 3-1 lead in the series,[19] the Suns once again lost to the defending champion Rockets in seven games.[19] Barkley averaged 25.7 points on 50% field goal shooting and 13.4 rebounds per game in the postseason,[5] but was limited in Game 7 of the Semifinals by a leg injury.[1]

The 1995-96 season was Barkley's last on the Phoenix Suns. He led the team in scoring, rebounds, and steals, averaging 23.3 points on 50% field goal shooting, 11.6 rebounds, and a career high 77.7% free throw shooting.[2] He earned his tenth appearance in an All-Star Game as the top vote-getter among Western Conference players and posted his 18th career triple-double on November 22.[1][5] He also became just the tenth player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in their career.[1][2] In the postseason, Barkley averaged 25.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in a four-game first round playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[20][5] 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.[21]

During his career with the Suns, Barkley excelled as a player, earning All-NBA and All-Star honors in each of his four seasons. However, the always outspoken Barkley continued to stir up controversy during the 1993 season, when he famously claimed that sports figures should not be role models.[22]

[edit] Role model controversy

Throughout his career, Barkley had been arguing that athletes should not be considered role models.[3] He stated, "A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail, should they be role models?" In 1993, his argument would prompt 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.[21]

Barkley's message sparked a great public debate about the nature of role models. He argued, "I think the media demands that athletes be role models because there's some jealousy involved. It's as if they say, this is a young black kid playing a game for a living and making all this money, so we're going to make it tough on him. And what they're really doing is telling kids to look up to someone they can't become, because not many people can be like we are. Kids can't be like Michael Jordan."[21]

Thirteen years later, on May 23, 2006, ESPN Classic aired a "The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame..." episode on Barkley's controversial commercial. The show discussed five main reasons why they agreed with Barkley's "I am not a role model" message. The number one reason being, "He Really Wasn't a Role Model. Although many fans believed Barkley's candor made him one of the NBA's most lovable players, his behavior occasionally backed up his claims, like in a game in the 1991-92 season where he spat on a 9-year old girl in New Jersey, and an incident in Orlando in which he threw a man through a window."

[edit] Houston Rockets

The trade to the Houston Rockets in the 1996-97 season was Barkley's last chance at capturing an NBA championship title. He joined a veteran team that included two of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. 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, eleven because of a sprained right ankle, and four due to suspensions.[1] He became the team's second leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points on 48.4% shooting;[2] the first time since his rookie year that he's averaged below 20 points per game. With Olajuwon taking most of the shots, Barkley focused primarily on rebounding, averaging 13.5 per game, the second best in his career.[1][2] The Rockets ended the regular season with a 57-25 record and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the Utah Jazz.[1] Barkley averaged 17.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in another postseason loss.[23]

The 1997-98 season was another injury plagued season for Barkley. He averaged 15.2 points on 48.5% shooting and 11.7 rebounds per game.[2] The Rockets ended the season with a 41-41 record and were eliminated in five games by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. Limited by injuries, Barkley played four games and averaged career lows of 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.[5] During the league-lockout shortened season, Barkley played 42 regular season games and managed 16.1 points on 47.8% field goal shooting and 12.3 rebounds per game.[2] He became the second player in NBA history, following Wilt Chamberlain, to accumulate 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in their career.[1] The Rockets concluded the shortened season with a 31-19 record and advanced to the playoffs.[24] In his last postseason appearance, Barkley averaged 23.5 points on 52.9% field goal shooting and 13.8 rebounds per game in a first round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[5] He concluded his postseason career averaging 22.1 points on 54.1% field goal shooting, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.[1]

In his last year in the NBA, he averaged 14 points a game over 19 games before tearing his left quadriceps tendon completely away from his kneecap during a game on December 8, 1999 in Philadelphia, where Barkley started his career.[25] He was told by doctors that he would never play again in the NBA, but was able to come back a little over four months later, for exactly one game, in front of Houston's home fans on April 19, 2000 against the Vancouver Grizzlies. Barkley scored a basket on an offensive rebound and putback, a trademark of his career. Barkley retired immediately after that game.

During his career in the NBA, Barkey totalled 23,757 points for an average of 22.1 points per game, and 12,546 rebounds, for an average of 11.7 rebounds per game.[5] He was an All-Star eleven times.[5]

[edit] Player profile

Barkley primarily played the power forward position. He was known for his unusual build as a basketball player, stockier than most small forwards, yet shorter than the league's power forwards. However, he was still capable of outmaneuvering and outsmarting bigger players and overpowering smaller opponents.[1] He was fluid on the fast break, a powerful jumper, an accurate shooter, and one of the NBA's premier clutch players.[1] He was a prolific scorer, averaging 22.1 points per game for his career,[5] with the ability to score on the perimeter or finish inside with a powerful dunk. He scored with great efficiency, averaging 54.1% field goal accuracy for his career,[5] including a career high 60% during the 1989-90 NBA season.[5]

Frequently listed as 6 ft. 6 in., but closer to 6 ft. 4 in., Barkley was the shortest player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game during the 1986-87 season.[26] His tenacious and aggressive play helped cement his legacy as one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, averaging 11.7 rebounds per game and 12,546 rebounds for his career.[5] He topped the NBA in offensive rebounding for three straight years,[3] and was capable of controlling the defensive rebound and dribbling the length of the court for a powerful finish at the rim.[26] His defensive talents were also equally impressive, concluding his career as the second All-Time leader in steals for the power foward position.[27] In addition, despite being undersized for his position, Barkley finished among the All-Time leaders in blocked shots.[27]

Barkley's talents were perhaps best summarized by NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton. In a SLAM magazine issue ranking NBA greats, he stated, "Barkley is like Magic [Johnson] and Larry [Bird] in that they don't really play a position. He plays everything; he plays basketball. There is nobody who does what Barkley does. He's a dominant rebounder, a dominant defensive player, a three-point shooter, a dribbler, a playmaker."[3]

[edit] Media appearances

Barkley went one-on-one with Godzilla in a popular Nike commercial in 1993.[28]

He appeared in several fast food commercials starring Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Bird and Jordan would play an outrageous game of horse, performing impossible shots. Barkley would appear at the end of the commercial begging the other two to let him play. They would walk away, eating the fast food, while Barkley would follow behind, whining.

He appeared alongside Michael Jordan in the hit movie Space Jam. He also had a tiny cameo in the movie Hot Shots! and Look Who's Talking Now. He appeared in the opening scene of Forget Paris.

He hosted the season premiere of the long-running NBC late night comedy show "Saturday Night Live" on September 25, 1993, with musical guest Nirvana.[29] During his SNL performance, Barkley participated in a parody of his earlier Godzilla commercial. In the skit, he faced off against children's show celebrity Barney the Purple Dinosaur in a matchup humorously billed as "Barkley vs Barney".

He appeared in Accolade's Barkley Shut Up and Jam!, a 2-on-2 basketball game for the Sega Genesis and SNES that takes place in the streets and in the basketball arena.

A comic book, written by Alan Dean Foster, entitled "Charles Barkley and the Referee Murders" was published when Charles played for the Phoenix Suns. Charles dons a trench coat in the comic book to solve the case in a story that is patterned after classic film noir.

Recently, he made a cameo in the final episode of Chappelle's Show.[30] The sketch made light of the awkwardness of having sex with the television on. Barkley appeared in a thought sequence of comedian Dave Chappelle, who was embracing a female doll in a sexual position.

[edit] Legacy

During his stint as a member of the Suns, Barkley was controversial and outspoken. He was rumored to have dated Madonna (he harkened on those rumors in Space Jam!), and he became a favorite of late-night TV talk shows. He published a pair of equally controversial books (Outrageous! and Sir Charles: The Wit And Wisdom of Charles Barkley, the former notable for Barkley's claim that he was misquoted in his own autobiography), and he was rumored to plan to run for Governor of Alabama. Barkley was involved in many lawsuits. In addition, he and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo became involved in a public dispute during Barkley's final season with the team.

On March 30, 2001, Barkley's number 34 jersey was retired by the 76ers.[31] On March 20, 2004, in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Barkley's jersey was retired by the Suns, as he joined Connie Hawkins, Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, and Kevin Johnson in the "Suns Ring of Honor".

Barkley was also involved in a notorious incident involving a fan, who filed a lawsuit against him. In 1997 he threw a man through a glass window during an altercation at an Orlando, Florida nightclub.[32] When asked if he had any regrets about throwing the man through the window, Barkley said, "I regret we weren't on a higher floor."[32]

[edit] Post-basketball life

[edit] Turner Network Television (TNT)

Barkley currently works as a studio analyst for Turner Network Television (TNT). Barkley appears on the network's NBA coverage during pregame and halftime shows, in addition to special NBA events (such as the NBA slam dunk contest among others). Barkley also appears on an original program for the Network entitled Inside the NBA, which has won numerous Emmy awards and has become renowned for Barkley's blunt yet humorous analysis. Inside the NBA is a post-game show during which the crew (Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith) recap the NBA games that occurred during the day and also comment on NBA affairs in general.

Barkley was the center of controversy regarding up-and-coming Chinese center Yao Ming due to comments he made while with TNT. When Yao was drafted as the #1 first-round pick, he initially met with a lot of disbelief and disdain. Barkley declared, "He's just not ready yet" and also said that he himself was still the "best player in Houston." He even said that he would "kiss Kenny Smith's ass" if Yao scored 20 points in a game.[33] After Yao scored 20 points in his first game against the Los Angeles Lakers,[33] an embarrassed Barkley later was forced to kiss a donkey's behind on national television.[34]

During a broadcast of a game which Barkley was courtside with Marv Albert, Barkley was poking fun of NBA official Dick Bavetta's age, to which Albert responded "I believe Dick would beat you in a footrace." In spite of this remark, Barkley challenged Bavetta to a race at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend for $50,000. The winner was to choose a charity to which the money would be donated. They raced three and a half lengths of the basketball court, and Barkley won.[35] In the past, Bavetta has been on the receiving end of many of Barkley's puns on his old age. Barkley has claimed that Dick Bavetta is so old "that he parted of the Red Sea with Moses."[35]

[edit] Gambling

In an interview with ESPN's Trey Wingo on May 3, 2006, Barkley revealed that he has lost approximately $10 million through gambling. Barkley was already known to be a heavy gambler, but the scope of his losses was not known until the interview.

Barkley admits that he has a gambling problem, but says it is not at serious as many others because he can afford it. On a February 3, 2007 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.[36]

Barkley also admits that he lost 2.5 million "in a six hour period" playing blackjack in 2006. He claims he is not upset about it.[37]

[edit] Politics

Barkley spoke articulately for many years of his Republican Party affiliation and in 1995 considered running as a G.O.P. candidate for Alabama's governorship in the 1998 election.[38] In 2006 he changed his political stance saying "I was a Republican until they lost their minds", "The word 'conservative' means 'discriminatory,' practically. It's a form of political discrimination. What do the Republicans run on? Against gay marriage and for a war that makes no sense. A war that was based on faulty intelligence. That's all they ever talk about. That and immigration. Another discriminatory argument for political gain."[39]

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 his running for Governor of Alabama: "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."[40]

In September 2006, Barkley reiterated his desire to run for Governor. "I can't run until 2014," he said.."[41] "I have to live there for seven years, so I'm looking for a house there as we speak."[41] And he said he is an independent, not a Democrat as previously reported. "The Republicans are full of it," Barkley said. "The Democrats are a little less full of it."[41]

[edit] Books

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 boy looks 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. In 2005, 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.

[edit] References

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  28. ^ Tom Fitzpatrick, BARKLEY MAKES THE SUNS RISE, Phoenix New Times, March 10, 1993, accessed March 6, 2007
  29. ^ tv.com, Saturday Night Live: Charles Barkley/Nirvana, accessed March 6, 2007
  30. ^ imdb.com, Charles Barkley, accessed March 6, 2007
  31. ^ Bob Ford, Lovefest for Charles Barkley, whose jersey number is retired. (Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service report), The Philadelphia Inquirer, accessed March 6, 2007
  32. ^ a b sportsillustrated.com, Legend of Sir Charles, accessed January 12, 2007
  33. ^ a b Joe Lago, Smith scores against Charles with the kiss, espn.com, accessed March 5, 2007
  34. ^ espn.com, Homonym saves Barkley from kissing Smith's backside, accessed March 6, 2007
  35. ^ a b nba.com, Bavetta vs. Barkley: Sir Charles Reigns, accessed March 6, 2007
  36. ^ espn.com Barkley admits huge losses, big gains while gambling (AP report), accessed March 6, 2007
  37. ^ cbs.sportsline.com, Barkley claims to have won $700K in Vegas over the weekend , accessed March 6, 2007
  38. ^ msnbc.com, Barkley renews talk of running for Ala. governor (AP article), accessed January 12, 2007
  39. ^ Chris Baldwin, Charles Barkley: John Mellencamp right, "Conservative means discriminatory", July 17, 2006
  40. ^ Charles J. Dean, Barkley may run in 2010, July 26, 2006
  41. ^ a b c espn.com, Barkley serious about running for Alabama governor (AP article), accessed January 12, 2007

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold 1992 Barcelona United States
Gold 1996 Atlanta United States
National Basketball Association | NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Nate Archibald | Paul Arizin | Charles Barkley | Rick Barry | Elgin Baylor | Dave Bing | Larry Bird | Wilt Chamberlain | Bob Cousy | Dave Cowens | Billy Cunningham | Dave DeBusschere | Clyde Drexler | Julius Erving | Patrick Ewing | Walt Frazier | George Gervin | Hal Greer | John Havlicek | Elvin Hayes | Magic Johnson | Sam Jones | Michael Jordan | Jerry Lucas | Karl Malone | Moses Malone | Pete Maravich | Kevin McHale | George Mikan | Earl Monroe | Hakeem Olajuwon | Shaquille O'Neal | Robert Parish | Bob Pettit | Scottie Pippen | Willis Reed | Oscar Robertson | David Robinson | Bill Russell | Dolph Schayes | Bill Sharman | John Stockton | Isiah Thomas | Nate Thurmond | Wes Unseld | Bill Walton | Jerry West | Lenny Wilkens | James Worthy
1992 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball – "Dream Team"
Charles Barkley | Larry Bird | Clyde Drexler | Patrick Ewing | Magic Johnson | Michael Jordan
Christian Laettner | Karl Malone | Chris Mullin | Scottie Pippen | David Robinson | John Stockton
Coach: Chuck Daly
1996 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball – United States
Charles Barkley | Penny Hardaway | Grant Hill | Karl Malone | Reggie Miller | Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O'Neal | Gary Payton | Scottie Pippen | Mitch Richmond | David Robinson | John Stockton
Coach: Lenny Wilkins
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