Charles Barkley once received three fines in the same season worth up to $45,000 for calling out the “bad” officiating.
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Charles Barkley was widely regarded as one of the game’s great during his playing days. Despite never getting his hands on the prestigious NBA championship, the undersized forward had a pretty eminent career. Over the course of his 16-year illustrious career, Sir Charles racked a pretty impressive resume – 11 All-Stars, 11 All-NBAs, and even won the 1993 MVP over the likes of a prime Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Despite being only 6-foot-6, The Round Mound of Rebound still managed to impose his command over the paint, resulting in a rebounding title back in 1987. With a high basketball IQ and his extreme physicality, the long-time Sixers legend was able to average a staggering 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting at an efficient 54.1% from the field.
Today, Barkley is one of the finest entertainers being an analyst on the sets of NBA on TNT. However, back in his playing days, the HOFer had a nasty reputation of being a violent player. Charles would often get into physical and verbal altercations with opponents, officials, and sometimes even the fans.
Goes without saying, Barkley has lost thousands of dollars in fines thanks to his on-court temperament. In specific, Barkley once lost $45,000 in a single season for bashing the referees for being “bad officials”.
“If I think an official’s bad, I’ll say it”: Charles Barkley
Back in the 1999-2000 season, as the Rockets went on to lose a double-overtime thriller against the Suns, Charles had absolutely no problem calling out the referee. For the same, Barkley received a hefty $20,000 fine.
“We lost the game because of one reason — Mike Mathis,” the All-Star forward said then. “I ain’t going to say nothing else. He’s a bad official.”
“He’s been bad the whole time I’ve been in the league. He cost us the game, and I hate that he’s back in the league.”
The then-36-year-old further stated how the fine was the third one he was slapped with by the league in that particular season. However, no fines would stop Barkley from calling out the officials.
“This is like the third time it’s happened,” Barkley said. “They got me for $10,000, $15,000. It’s just escalated. If I think an official’s bad, I’ll say it.
”I don’t think about it, don’t worry about it too much, man. They’re all tax-deductible.”
Today, Barkley is worth more than $50 million but could’ve had an additional $45,000 had he not complained about the referees from his final NBA season.
Also Read: Charles Barkley squashed Kobe Bryant’s teammate’s $250,000 deal during appearance on Shark Tank
