“You F**king Hit Me”: Charles Barkley Stripped Off and Channeled His Inner Karate Kid to Ward Off Racist Milwaukee Attackers in 1991

The enigmatic Charles Barkley is well-known for his relentless and not holding back nature ever since his playing days. A case of this happened back in 1991 when Chuck came up with a hilarious solution to get out of a difficult situation that resulted in him getting arrested. When on the verge of a fight breaking out, Barkley effectively channelled his inner Karate Kid, stripped down to just boxers in the 10-degree weather, and ended up punching one of the assailants. The man had initially thrown a range of racial slurs and gestures at Barkley, who could not help but respond.

This was of course, through no fault of his own. Barkley was out in a Milwaukee bar after losing a match against the Bucks. Along with Bucks’ players Larry Krystkowiak and Frank Brickowski, Barkley found himself chatting up a woman at the bar.

However, a 25-year-old Army Veteran by the name of James McCarthy, who had a crush on the woman, was also there, according to Barkley: A biography by Timothy Bella. While McCarthy did not initially want to fight, he had been to four bars on the night, and things became worse when he saw the woman leaving the bar along with Charles Barkley. 

“As Charles and Lee Anne Wooten were leaving, McCarthy, who appeared to be intoxicated after going to four bars that night, began to yell at them from about a block away, shouting at the woman about whether she was going to have s*x with Barkley,” it said, with Barkley revealing in 2020 that the woman he was with, was actually Frank Brickowski’s wife. Later, Wooten revealed that racial and sexual slurs were thrown at them, which triggered the situation.

With McCarthy at the bar with his friends Trednic and Tony Mehrtens, the 76ers star knew a physical altercation was coming. 

After some more back and forths, Barkley was convinced that he was about to be jumped. This resulted in a hilarious solution, as the 76ers star was now intent on proving that he was simply crazy.

“Then, in the early-morning hours, he came up with an unorthodox solution he could transfer over from the basketball court: make them think you’re crazy. Charles stripped down to his boxers and socks in ten-degree weather and positioned himself for a crane kick from The Karate Kid.” 

Trednic in particular was left confused and did not want to fight with Barkley anymore.

“I was like, ‘Is he going to start doing karate right now? What is this karate stuff?” Trednic said. “He was ready to karate-chop my a*s down,” the book revealed.

When McCarthy still did not back down, Barkley delivered a left jab which resulted in blood spurting from his nose. McCarthy’s response, surprised even his friends.

“He’s down, and he’s like, ‘You f**king hit me!” Charles recalled. “And I said, ‘You damn right, and there’s plenty more where that came from.”” the book claimed.

Hence, while McCarthy simply got what he had consistently been asking for, Barkley went ahead and threatened him further. The 25-year-old was eventually taken to the hospital, where he was urged to press charges. As a result of his obliging, Barkley was arrested, but released in a matter of hours. “Hours after getting dropped off at his downtown hotel, Charles heard a knock at his door from a coach. Police had gotten word of the altercation outside the bar. He would be arrested at his hotel room for battery and spend about four hours in Milwaukee County Jail before posting a $500 cash bond shortly after 10:00 a.m. that same day,” the book revealed.

While Barkley was surely provoked towards hitting back due to the constant jibes, he was lucky as well. The charges against him were punishable by a jail term of up to 9 months, along with a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Charles Barkley was asked by the NBA to get security guards in 1997

It seems as though this was not the only time Barkley came close to getting into trouble with the public. A range of similar incidents led to the NBA delivering a stern warning Barkley’s way, in 1997.

“No matter what anyone says or does to me, I will not be baited. If someone throws a drink at me, I’ll let my security guards handle it,” Barkley revealed.

This was the league’s response to another brawl that he had gotten into, this time as a Houston Rockets player, and at Orlando. The fight had broken out after the man, Jorge, threw a drink at Barkley.

Rather than feeling guilt or remorse, he had claimed that the situation was simply embarrassing, as he had to suffer consequences, while Jorge himself was sitting at home, waiting for his money. There is little doubt that Barkley had his fair share of adventures off the court as well, and was not always lucky to get away with minimal damage.