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Charles Barkley’s hatred towards his Spanish teacher led to him spitting on an 8 y/o girl, losing $10,000

Samir Mehdi
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Charles Barkley’s hatred towards his Spanish teacher led to him spitting on an 8 y/o girl, losing $10,000

Charles Barkley spat on little girl while with the Philadelphia 76ers, leading to him psychoanalysing himself on why he did it.

Charles Barkley is most definitely on the wilder side of NBA superstars that have come and gone. Everything from his getting arrested on numerous occasions to gambling millions of dollars on the Super Bowl and his own golfing acumen, ‘The Round Mound of Rebound’ lived life the way he wanted to.

Nike even capitalized on Chuck’s outlandish behavior, releasing an advertisement that claimed he wasn’t a role model, calling out parents who blatantly blamed him for their child’s sour attitude. Out of all the things Barkley has done however, one moment during his playing career sticks out as something that should not have happened.

During a game against the New Jersey Nets, Charles Barkley was being ridiculed by ‘fans’ sitting ridiculed courtside. It’s unclear what exactly was said to him but by the 4th quarter, he had had enough. In a fit of anger, he spat at the fan. only, according to him, he didn’t have enough foam in his mouth and so the spit went everywhere.

One victim of this ‘attack’ was an 8 y/o girl. Headlines at the time plastered it all across the news, leading to Chuck feeling horrible about himself.

Also read: Charles Barkley, who is a “bus driver”, called out Shaquille O’Neal for riding Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant’s coattails

Charles Barkley on how he felt following the spit.

Following the spitting incident, Charles Barkley was fined $10,000 by the league and suspended without pay for a single game. Looking back at this moment that lives on in infamy, Barkley tells Graham Bensinger that coming into the league, he was just an angry man.

“When I first got to the NBA, I was angry. I was angry at Ms. Gomez. Ms. Gomez is my high school Spanish teacher. I flunked that [class]. I didn’t get to graduate, I had to go to summer school. So I hated Ms. Gomez.”

Chuck then goes on to talk about how his father disciplined him for not graduating, leading to him telling himself that this was the last time he wasn’t going to be in control of his own life. However, following the spitting incident, Sir Charles said he questioned himself as to what’s wrong with him.

“I was sitting in a hotel room and was like ‘Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? What are you so angry about?’ From that day forward, every time I played basketball, I said, ‘Just let people see your talent. You don’t have to be mad at anybody else.’ And so that was the turnaround for me.”

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Also read: Jerry West choked out 325lbs Shaquille O’Neal after Lakers loss to Charles Barkley

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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