In 1991, Charles Barkley became a villain in the news headlines after unintentionally spitting on an eight-year-old girl. During an intense battle between his Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets, Barkley took exception to some words aimed at him and spat in a heckler’s direction. However, his aim was off and the spit fell on the face of an eight-year-old girl named Lauren Porecca. A shocked Porecca couldn’t fathom what had happened and bereft of words, she started to laugh.
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In the 2022 memoir, Barkley: A Biography, author Timothy Bella wrote down the thoughts of Lauren Porecca after she had been spat on. The “disgusted” school-age child was overcome with emotions upon feeling the 1987 rebounding leader’s saliva upon her.
“All of a sudden, I felt wet and gross like, “This is disgusting”. I remember actually laughing, mostly in shock, because I didn’t know what was going on,” expressed Porecca as per Bella’s book.
While she was laughing frantically, her father was in fury. He walked to the edge of the court and called out the 76ers forward for his actions. Many other fans also expressed their disdain and a fan even went as far as squaring up to face Barkley. However, it was Porecca’s mother who expressed her biggest fear.
She was afraid that her precious daughter was going to contract HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) after contacting the athlete’s saliva. Since 1981, the fears of HIV gripped the United States, and even deep into the 1990s, there was an appalling lack of awareness about the disease. Therefore, such notions were prevalent and caused mass panic. The 76ers’ Ace would have felt shame as he was in contact with a lot of people and was always on the move.
After Barkley learned of his mistake, his then-teammate 6’3” sharpshooting guard Hersey Hawkins noted the change in his countenance. From being confrontative, Chuck was guilt-ridden. He had inadvertently spat on the child while aiming for a heckler.
Charles Barkley messed up unintentionally
According to the 1993 MVP, this incident occurred because he was disgusted by a person who kept hurling racial slurs. After confronting him, the top-notch rebounder couldn’t resist but take the spitting route.
During his career, the forward had a lot of pent-up frustration and such acts were a result of that. However, he knew that even if he accidentally spit on the child, it was a huge blunder.
To make amends, The Round Mound of Rebound gifted Lauren Porecca tickets for the rest of the season. However, the NBA administration wasn’t pleased by his actions as they soiled the image of the league. Therefore, they handed him a $10,000 fine and also suspended him for a game.
Additionally, retorting to such actions could not be encouraged even if it was aimed at a heckler. Being an athlete in the NBA entails comments, positive and negative, from the public. Apart from denting his image and feeling guilty, such actions can also hurt the sentiments of many who idolize these stars. Moreover, a comment could be answered with a comment.
