Charles Barkley has never shied away from being honest, on or off the court. But in recent years, the NBA Hall of Famer has opened up about something deeper than sports—his childhood. The 11-time All-Star spoke about how his father abandoned his family when he was just an infant, leaving his mother and grandmother to raise him in Leeds, Alabama. Chuck opened up about this tough relationship during an interview with 60 Minutes in 2023.
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Even though Chuck’s father was absent, he still made promises. Unfortunately, they were never kept. One promise was that he would send Charcey, the NBA legend’s mother, money to help them take care of their child “He kept sayin’ he was gonna send us money, and he didn’t do it” Barkley said at the time. “I was very angry.”
But what hurt Barkley even more was watching how hard the women in his life worked to just keep things afloat. “My mom and grandma were working their behinds off,” he recalled. Chuck has always been open about not growing up with much money, so the memory of his father letting him down in this capacity made him even “angrier.”
“And the thing that was really bad about it, I was standing by the mailbox, like, once every three or four months,” he told 60 Minutes. Those financial hardships, mixed with his dad letting him down, seemed to be emotionally crushing for the now 62-year-old analyst.
Fortunately, this story had a happy ending. Barkley’s success in the NBA, as well as his success as a television personality, has him now listed as having a net worth of $90 million. It might never be enough money to rid himself of the chip his dad left on his shoulder. Thank goodness he had good women in his life to show him the way.
Chuck’s mom and grandmother once surprised him with a pair of Nikes even though they couldn’t afford them
One of the most vivid examples of that struggle came through something as simple—but symbolic—as a pair of basketball shoes. Barkley’s family couldn’t afford to buy him new shoes regularly. And for a young athlete, especially one with NBA dreams, that wasn’t just inconvenient—it was demoralizing.
During an appearance on Nothing Left Unsaid, Barkley remembered a story of his mom and grandmother gifting him a pair of Nikes when he was 17. However, it came with a catch. He could only wear them when he played ball.
“My mother and grandmother they pooled their money to buy me a great pair of Nikes,” he began. “But I could only wear them during the game. They would bring them to the game and then come knocking on the locker room door after the game and take the sneakers. You know how humiliating and embarrassing that is for a 17-year-old kid?”
Chuck’s story is a reminder that many of the toughest people we admire didn’t get that way by chance. Their resilience was forged in real pain, real struggle. And while Barkley’s voice today is one of humor, blunt truths, and bold opinions, it’s also shaped by the silence of an empty mailbox.
