Charles Barkley can be insulting sometimes, and he might make jokes at your expense, but as true as these things are, he is also one of the nicest people in the league. He is honest and outspoken, which has even cost him relationships with his closest ones. His NBA career can be said similar to today’s Draymond Green, always getting fined by the league for some reason or other. At one point, he was so used to getting fined that when his then-friend Michael Jordan was fined $100,000, Barkley barely even cared. Six months later, their relationship took a hit and is yet to recover.
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During 2011-12, the NBA entered a lockout season. The league later announced that any members or owners of the team who talked about the lockout would be fined a massive $100,000, which is almost nothing for a billionaire like Jordan. Without caring what the league said, Jordan openly talked about the struggles of the lockout season. The league office slapped the Hornets’ owner with a $100,000 fine. However, for Charles, it wasn’t even something worth discussing. Moreover, he also had acknowledged previously that the fine money serves kids in need, so it was more than okay with him.
“Then there can’t be a whole lot of hungry kids left in the world:” Charles Barkley on his fines
In his book, ‘Sir Charles’ Barkley mentions that in 1990, NBA V.P. of Operations Rod Thorn told that some of the money that the NBA had collected from Barkley in fines would be going to feed needy children. To that, Barkley said, “Then there can’t be a whole lot of hungry kids left in the world.”
Barkley is not someone to mince words and speaks his mind out. This is the reason why, the 1993 MVP found himself in trouble oftentimes even since his playing days.
Perhaps only a true vintage NBA fan would know what kind of superstar Charles Barkley was in his playing years. He had an aggressive demeanor on the court. He was relentless, outspoken, and he cared about nothing but the game itself. In a very short period of time after being drafted, Barkley had made a name for himself. The Round Mound of Rebound did not care who his opponent was; it never bothered him. He got into a brawl with Bad Boy Pistons and even had a massive on-court fight with his current friend Big Diesel Shaq.
Barkley was so hot-headed that at one point during a game against the New Jersey Nets, he spat on a heckler courtside which landed on a little girl. In an interview, Barkley said that his anger came due to his Spanish teacher Ms. Gomez and his father who was absent in his growing-up years. However, Charles was later reborn when he joined the Phoenix Suns.
Barkley barely cared about the fines slapped on him
In 1990, when Barkley was with the 76ers, he got into the biggest brawl of the season with Pistons’ center Bill Laimbeer, which later prompted the league to fine him $22,000. He also lost $31,700 from his salary due to suspension. What is more interesting is Barkley’s comment on the fines that he was slapped with. He openly said that he didn’t care about the fine because he earns millions.
“I don’t care if I get fined. I make $3 million. What’s a couple thousand dollars?”
Chuck was relentless and faced his opponents ruthlessly, that’s what made him so great. Even now, he has barely changed his demeanor. However, now he knows when, where, and how to place his aggression.
