Charles Barkley has managed to amass a huge following of NBA fans due to his candid and spontaneous rhetoric on air. Barkley has said things on national television that might be construed as PR nightmares for many professional journalists. When he was in his prime as a player, the NBA superstar was unstoppable on the court. But Barkley always spoke his mind outside the hardwood, often making headlines for his controversial takes. Over time he has earned a fanbase who like his no-filter talk. If his outspoken nature has earned Barkley a spot on TV, it has also cost him a lot. The biggest of them is probably the loss of a friend in Michael Jordan.
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Barkley and MJ had been close friends since their playing days in the NBA. They were drafted in the same class in 1984, and in their spare time, away from the NBA, they enjoyed playing golf together. Sir Charles faced Jordan in the Finals in 1993 in his first and only NBA Finals appearance. Everything was going great, till the Chuckster criticized MJ for badly managing his NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan severed ties with Barkley after that.
However, Barkley would never compromise his freedom of speech for anything in the world. And years before his friendship with MJ ended, he gave a very valid reason why.
Charles Barkley believed that people who hide things are dangerous
Barkley is not someone to lose his dignity over any sum of money. Be it politics, sports, or entertainment, the Round Mound of Rebound believes that honesty should not be traded with anything in life. In 1991, Barkley addressed his outspoken nature. He said that it is better to spill the truth, rather than keeping secrets inside which can create conflict within yourself.
“I believe in expressing what you feel. There are people who hide everything inside—and it’s guys like that who kill whole families,” said the Chuckster in his book Sir Charles. Obviously, he may have took things to an extreme end, but it’s very true that pent up anger and frustrations can prompt angry outbursts.
When Barkley was being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent told him to follow his plan, which could have earned him more money. However, the Chuckster openly said that he doesn’t care where he plays next after the 76ers. He also said that it was not the most important thing in the world for him.
Barkley is loved for his TV gig
If someday the former league MVP is asked about trading his character for anything, he wouldn’t. During his playing years, he was a league superstar and players less popular than him were getting offers to do advertisements for a large sum. However, crowd favorite Charles got only a handful of offers. The companies needed athletes with a clear public image, and the former Suns star didn’t have that. However, Barkley put everything aside, be it money or fame, and chose his brutal honesty above everything.
The NBA on TNT analyst recently signed a 10-year contract with Turner Sports. He is all set to earn $100,000,000 from his contract. However, he can also earn up to $200,000,000 if he finishes his contract. The money that Barkley is paid is not just for the deeper analysis of the game and the players. He is paid to crack funny jokes, punch Shaq and run, eat most of the time, roast fans on live TV, and complain that ladies in San Antonio are ‘big’, among other things. If considered carefully, he perhaps is the greatest athlete-turned-media personality in America right now.
