The name Charles Barkley more than often brings a smile to most of our faces, given his ability to entertain us with his goofy behavior and hilarious antics on the award-winning show Inside the NBA. The veteran forward remains the cheat code for TNT producers to boost television ratings.
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While The Chuckster may come across as a class clown seated amongst co-panelists Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson, the Suns MVP knows when to flip the switch, especially if it means addressing social issues. The Alabama native is well-informed about the problems plaguing society today, whether it is race, color, or sex.
A champion for social justice rights, Barkley has made several donations to HBCU colleges over the years. Earlier this year, the eleven-time All-Star donated $1 million to his daughter’s school, The Spellman college. Another example of the TNT analyst’s philanthropic endeavors includes donations to schools in his hometown Leeds, Alabama.
Often visiting HBCU colleges, Barkley once made a noteworthy observation that separated schools predominantly dominated by African Americans from white schools.
“Our kids are brainwashed to think they can only play sports and be entertainers”: Charles Barkley’s startling revelation on career choices between races.
Never hesitating to speak his mind, Barkley stated how kids in black schools are made to believe that they can only have a career in sports or entertainment.
During a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger, Chuck narrated how he did this experiment when he speaks at school.
“Let’s say I’m at a white school, I said how many of you kids want to play pro sports, less than 10% raise their hands. I said what do you wanna do, ‘I wanna be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer’ but when I go speak at predominantly black schools, 90% of the kids wanna play sports,” revealed Barkley.
“They’ll be a couple like, ‘I wanna be a doctor,’ which makes me like really proud but 90% of kids when I speak at black schools, they are kids that are brainwashed to think they can only play sports and be entertainers.”
“You got a better chance of being a doctor and a lawyer than playing in the NBA. I’d say they are 400 players in the NBA, what are the chance you’re gonna be one of the best 400 players in the world?”
(Timestamp: 1:11 seconds)
Barkley added how he wasn’t trying to ‘bash’ anybody’s dream, wishing everyone accomplished their desires. A strong message from the 6ft 5″ forward. It remains to be seen if the African American youth pays attention to the veteran’s words of wisdom.
