Charles “Blackjack” Barkley Basketball stars always seem to find themselves
in the public's eye.
Sometimes it's their legendary skills—sometimes, it's their legendary mistakes.
Athletes like Barkley seem invincible, but they're just like us.
They fall prey to everyday things such as accidents, people, and even addiction.
Barkley's love for gambling was well known to the public, but nobody knew how bad it
was getting.
How did Charles Barkley almost lose it all to gambling?
Beginnings Barkley was always meant to be a basketball
player.
In college, he played center even though he was shorter than the average center.
He was highly talented and immediately earned his place on the team.
He earned the nickname "The Round Mound Of Rebound" because he was one of the heavier
players on the team.
Despite his weight, Barkley outshined most other players on the court.
Despite these hurdles, Charles proved to be an exciting star and a team player.
He was just as likely to pass the ball as he was to charge down the court and make a
two-handed dunk.
Barkley was also fantastic at blocking shots and would regularly shut down the other teams'
shooters.
In college, Barkley won quite a few awards, including the SEC player of the year award
in 1984.
Later he got player of the decade for the '80s.
After his third year in college Barkley left school and went in the 1984 NBA draft.
He was the 5th overall pick by the 76ers, just two picks after the Bulls chose Micheal
Jordan.
At the start of his NBA career, he was mentored by Moses Malone, who taught him how to control
his weight and prepare for games.
He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 1992 and took over the team as the leader.
He appeared on either the 1st or 2nd All-NBA team for seven years in a row, and he won
the MVP in 1993.
In 1992, the Olympics rules changed, and NBA players were finally allowed to compete.
Barkley, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Jonhson, and other NBA stars were dubbed the
Dream Team.
They never lost a single game and brought back the gold for Team USA in 1992 and 1996.
Barkley always remained popular with fans and sponsors alike.
He had endorsements from Nike, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Right guard, and many others.
He had a brilliant way of keeping himself in the public's eye through controversy on
the court and very outspoken opinions off of it.
He even got some time on the big screen alongside Michael Jordan in the original Space Jam.
Controversies Barkley's storied career had many ups and
downs as he was no stranger to controversy.
Barkley once held an NBA record for the biggest fine levied against a player after an on-court
fight with Pistons' Center, Bill Laimbeer, cost them $162,000 each.
In 1991, Barkley's first big controversy hit when he spit on a fan.
During a game against the New Jersey Nets, Barkley was being heckled by a fan.
He says that the fan called him racial slurs and boiled his blood to the point that he
tried to spit on him.
Barkley isn't the world's most accurate spitter.
He accidentally hit a little girl instead.
Barkley was fined $10,000 and suspended for a game.
Since then, he has developed a good relationship with the girl and her family.
During an interview post-retirement, Barkley said the spitting incident was the only thing
he regretted during his career.
Barkley ended up embroiled in another controversy when critics called into question his opinion
of NBA stars as role models.
He was quoted as saying, "A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be
role models?"
He had a strong belief that just because they're professional athletes doesn't mean they have
to be role models.
This controversy led him to a big payday with his NIKE "I am not a role model" commercials.
Despite his hot-take opinions and aggressive on-court play, Barkley stood right beside
Michael Jordan as one of the most beloved players of their time.
Between his salary, endorsements, and media appearances, Barley secured a pretty hefty
bank account.
But there was another source of income hidden in the background.
Little known to many at the time was the severity of Barkley's vice of choice—gambling.
Side Bets Barkley had a gambling addiction that first
reared its ugly head in 1990 when he made in-game wagers with a Knicks player.
After the game, he thought it was a good idea to tell the media about their side-bets.
This infuriated NBA commissioner David Stern who fined them both $5000 for their involvement
in the bet.
The league frowned severely on gambling within the sport and looked to make an example of
the players involved.
This, however, would not deter Barkley from his love of gambling.
The snowball was forming.
You can imagine that with all that money at his disposal, Barkley could win big or lose
even bigger, and you'd be right.
During a 2006 interview, the future hall-of-famer said that he had lost 2.5 million in around
6 hours.
When asked how much he thought he'd lost in total, he responded with "around $10 million,"
but that was before the height of his gambling problem.
Barkley hit a stroke of luck in 2007 when he won $700,000 playing blackjack and betting
on the Super Bowl.
Barkley was aware he had a gambling problem but didn't think it was that big of a deal.
He told reporters, "It's a stupid, bad habit.
I have a problem.
But the problem is when you can't afford it."
Barkley seemed to have a classic case of denial on his hands.
This statement would prove wrong, though, when in May of 2008, Barkley was sued by a
casino that he owed $400,000 to for unpaid debts.
Barkley quickly paid them back and settled all of the fees, but it does beg the question.
How come someone so rich hadn't paid their debt?
In all, Barkley claims to have lost $30 Million in Las Vegas over his gambling career.
He took a two-year circa 2008.
To fill the void, he started golfing with Michael Jordan.
However, betting $100,000 on a round of golf probably wasn't good for Barkley's problem.
Athletes Gambling With all the money and egos rolling around
in sports, it is the perfect storm for gambling addictions to pop up.
Some of the most famous figures in sports have had gambling problems.
Michael Jordan, arguably the best of all time, was a well-known risk-taker.
His gambling problem dated back to high school, where he wrote a letter to his prom date thanking
her for paying up on a bet he'd won.
Who the heck makes bets with their prom date?
He went straight into college with this same mentality and made bets over everything from
cards to pool.
He even wrote a check out for $5 once after losing a game, and that person later sold
it at auction for $12,300.
Unlike Barkley, Mike always denied the allegations and tried to hide his gambling to protect
his image.
But when you're as famous as Michael Jordan, you don't get away with much.
Jordan began to bet heavily during his NBA career, and even though he would deny it in
interviews, it was well known that he had a problem.
Barkley, in good spirits, threw Jordan under the bus when he revealed that Mike was willing
to bet $300,000 on one golf putt.
Jordan's addiction was so famous that SNL parodied it.
The skit even featured Charles Barkley, played by Keenan Thompson, showing up to bet on a
locker room Quarters game.
The documentary series, The Last Dance, dives deep into Jordan's gambling habits.
There are also classic examples like MLB player and manager Pete Rose who admitted to betting
on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds.
It seems as though, for whatever reason, gambling is very prevalent among Athletes.
Another pretty famous example of gambling in pro sports comes from New York Yankees
star Alex Rodriguez, who in 2009 was reportedly seen in an illegal high-stakes poker game
in Beverly Hills.
Barkley For President Barkley was always open about his political
views.
Throughout the '90s, he was an outspoken supporter of the republican party.
He was quoted as saying, "I was asked for years about being a Republican, probably because
most black people are Democrats.
My mother heard it once and called me and said, 'Charles, Republicans are for the rich
people.'
And I said, 'Mom, I'm rich."
It wasn't until 2006, when he was discussing running for Governor of Alabama that he denounced
the Republican party and endorsed the Democrats after saying," I was a Republican until they
lost their minds."
Then, in 2008, he announced that he'd bought a house in Alabama to satisfy a 7-year live-in-state
rule to run for Governor in 2014.
He also stated that he would run as an independent.
Barkley Today While he never could give gambling up for
good, Barkley stated that he loves the action of it too much.
He did slow down considerably and taught himself some level of moderation.
However, Barkley's definition of moderation is probably different than ours—the man
did lose $30 Million in Las Vegas and turned out just fine.
These days, you can find Barkley giving his professional opinion as an NBA analyst for
TNT.
Unfortunately, problem gambling will always be attached to the Barkley brand as it was
so prominent in his life for so many years.
During a video chat with Barkley and Shaq, former president Barack Obama made a joke
at Barkley's expense.
When Shaq said that he didn't have as much money as Barkley, Obama responded with, "that's
because you don't visit Vegas as often as he does."
When Shaq asked Barkley how he felt about the president knowing about his gambling addiction,
he replied as casually as ever, saying, "It's all over T.V. I can't hide it."
It seems as though the NBA legend is no worse for the wear due to his gambling.
Did he get his problem under control, or does he have enough money to bankroll his addiction?
Either way, today, Barkley leads a happy life, enjoying his retirement from the NBA and his
job as an analyst across from his long-time friend, Shaquille O'neal.
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