Famous NBA players are often referred to as role models. There is a belief that these successful athletes can inspire a generation of kids to work hard on their dreams. However, Charles Barkley has always found this notion problematic. In a 1993 Nike commercial, Barkley famously proclaimed, “I am not a role model.”
Advertisement
During an appearance on Throwbacks pod, host Jerry Ferrara asked Barkley if he was the one who came up with the idea for the commercial or if Nike had prepared the script.
Barkley revealed that he was the one who pitched the idea to the sneakers giant. However, it wasn’t received well considering it went against the norm. It took considerable effort for Barkley to convince Nike representatives before they accepted his proposal.
Barkley told Ferrara,
“I said I got this idea, I want to make a commercial. They’re like, ‘You fu**ing nuts’. And I said, ‘No, no,no’. You got to trust me on this. We’re gonna start a great debate. I know athletes are role models but I want to start a better conversation. They’re like, ‘This is a bad idea’. Took me a while time to into it and finally we did it and it took over the country for a while.”
The reaction to his proposal was understandable. At the time, superstars like Michael Jordan were seen as role models because there was a sentiment that they’d motivate kids to stay away from dangerous street life and inspire them to work hard on their dreams.
However, Barkley thought there was a loophole in this belief.
Barkley wanted to open up a vital conversation
Barkley wasn’t happy with the segregated nature of US schools and how the model of education differed across different racial groups. After conducting a survey, he was perturbed that African American students were only encouraged to pursue a career in sports or entertainment.
Since only a handful of people can advance in these fields, he wanted African-American students to dream about becoming doctors, teachers, and lawyers, among various other professions. During his interaction with Ferrara, Barkley added,
“When I go to white schools, these kids wanna be doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, fireman, policeman. When I was going to these black schools, they’re like, ‘I want to play in the NFL, I want to play in the NBA’… Our black kids are brainwashed to think they gonna be athletes or entertainers… They got a better chance a doctor and a lawyer, and a engineer than they do playing in the NBA.”
Barkley was correct in his assessment because only about 0.1% of high-school prospects make it to the pros. Nike also later acknowledged his idea and after the commercial was released, they received a positive response.
