Charles Barkley has been known for his fun-loving personality and constant jokes since joining the Inside the NBA crew in 2000, but the Hall of Fame forward wasn’t nearly as friendly during his playing days. Chuck has had several instances where he let his emotions get the better of him.
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Barkley was at the top of his game in April 1993 when he, Frank Johnson, and other teammates decided to have a meal at a sports bar in suburban Scottsdale. Debbie Hartel, a nurse at a nursing home, and her husband happened to be dining at the same time across the aisle.
Debbie didn’t know who Barkley was, but she knew her patients loved the Phoenix Suns. She decided to take the opportunity to ask Johnson if he and his teammates could sign five napkins for her patients, which he agreed to do. When the former guard turned around to return the signed piece of paper, Hartel noticed that Chuck had only signed one.
Barkley notably had a one-autograph-per-fan policy, but since this was for her patients, Hartel insisted that the superstar autograph the rest of the napkins. This nudge proved to be the breaking point for Chuck. Hartel’s husband reportedly heard the 16-year veteran refer to Debbie with a vulgar term. At this point, Debbie no longer cared about Barkley’s signature.
Hartel didn’t hold back in her retort, claiming she went up to Chuck’s table and said, “This is what I think of your autograph,” before tearing it into shreds and dropping the signed remains in front of him, according to Barkley by Timothy Bella. Hartel claimed Chuck was quick to respond, not with words, but with his beer mug.
“He immediately took his beer and threw it in my face. It was close enough that the impact of the beer knocked me back a little bit,” Hartel said. After that, Hartel’s husband stood up approach Barkley, but teammates held the hotheaded star back from engaging. Frank Johnson quickly apologized to Hartel, but the damage had already been done.
“He was like, ‘Gosh, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I guess you shouldn’t have torn up his autograph.’ I said, ‘He shouldn’t have called me the c-word,'” Hartel added. No charges were filed, but the nurse was left humiliated and soaked in alcohol. She ultimately decided to resign from her job at the nursing home after sharing her side of the story with local media outlets.
Hartel mentioned that while she did receive a letter of apology from Suns owner, Jerry Colangelo, she never heard anything from Barkley, who showed no remorse. “If she were truly upset, wouldn’t she have taken legal action against me?” he remarked.
Years later, while working as a flight attendant for America West Airlines, Hartel found herself with Charles seated in first class on one of her flights. He didn’t recognize her, but she confessed she had briefly considered getting revenge. “I did think about walking by and accidentally spilling a sugary drink on him, but I held back,” she said.
Many have come to love Charles Barkley for his antics and humor throughout his time as a media member. Luckily, Chuck seems to have mellowed out with age, but there are also plenty others, including Hartel, who unfortunately saw the worst side of the former MVP.
