Charles Barkley is never one to mince words, no matter the topic of conversation. The NBA legend has been vocal in the past about how important it is for successful athletes to give back to the communities and institutions that helped shape them. Chuck addressed this again during an appearance on Outkick, where he was asked about potentially donating to his alma mater.
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The conversation took an interesting turn when Chuck was asked whether he’d ever consider stepping into a role like Shaquille O’Neal, who recently became the general manager of the men’s basketball team at Sacramento State. The interviewer also wondered if Michael Jordan could potentially do the same thing for the University of North Carolina, where His Airness famously played for the Tar Heels.
Barkley chose not to respond to the Jordan portion of the question. Chuck and MJ used to be close, but things changed. Barkley criticized how Jordan was running the Charlotte Hornets back in 2013, and according to Chuck, Jordan didn’t take the comments well. They just stopped talking after that. Their friendship faded, and they haven’t really spoken since.
What Barkley did mention was what he decides to do with his money. “I just gave $10 million to HBCU,” said the 1993 MVP. “That stuff is way more important to me than joining the cespool that is college athletics.”
The NBA legend started getting riled up, speaking on the current state of collegiate sports. “We are such a sh***y country and have ruined college athletics. This notion that you have to come up with tens of millions of dollars to pay kids to play basketball to become a free agent and transfer to another school and then pay them again is ridiculous.”
One clear thing is that Barkley would rather lend his riches to a better cause. He’s quietly donated millions over the years to support education and causes close to him. In 2016, he gave $1 million each to Alabama A&M and Clark Atlanta University. A year later, Morehouse College received the same amount. In 2020, he donated $1 million each to Miles College and Tuskegee University.
These don’t even scratch the surface of Chuck’s philanthropy, because that’s what the Emmy-winner put his focus on. Whether he’s right about college athletics or not, it’s nice to see someone stand on their morals.
