Credible messages can no longer come from Bizarro-Barkley

Remember Bizarro from the Superman comics? He was the imperfect, anti-Superman. Dark. Evil. Stupid. Every now and again, Bizarro-Barkley shows up for no apparent reason. It wasn’t too long ago that I was thinking to myself, “Charles Barkely has come a long way to rehabilitating his image.” Barkley, a former NBA star, 13-time NBA all-star, and current TNT NBA analyst, is the same guy who, as a player, spit on a fan, threw his fair share of elbows, and (in an off-the-court incident) threw a man through a plate glass window. Suffice it to say, Charles Barkley has always been controversial. The press has often taken delight in the fact that he doesn’t always think before he speaks. Even when he’s right, the credible messages and desire for political favor have been undermined by Barkley’s own foolishness. Alas, Bizzaro-Barkley is at it, again.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, in May 2006, Charles reportedly had issues with gambling debts and claimed to have lost between $50 million and $60 million in the past 12 years due to gambling. Two years later, the Wynn sued Barkley, claiming he had some $400,000 in gambling debts unpaid. In retrospect, even for one who can “afford it,” it’s more than a bit disconcerting in light of the plethora of more constructive things that money could have been used for. Barkley has made it known for some time that he’d like to pursue the Governor seat in his home state of Alabama. Yet Barkley’s desire for public adulation conflicts with his own rhetoric. Charles did a Nike commercial in which he unequivocally states, “I am not a role model.” Bizarro-Barkley admitted (in 2006),” Yeah, I do have a gambling problem but I don't consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble. It's just a stupid habit that I've got to get under control, because it's just not a good thing to be broke after all of these years.” I certainly don’t begrudge Barkley’s desire (or ability) to gamble, but if he’s lost even a fraction of what’s alleged, he’s got a real problem for which he should consider seeking assistance.

Among Charles’ more recent comments, he openly criticized LeBron James for responding to questions regarding speculation that he would go to the New York Knicks in 2010. In fairness to LeBron, he never instigated the speculation. Taking a firm stance would weaken his ability to negotiate down the road, and saying nothing would have only exacerbated the speculation. LeBron was in a Lose-Lose situation, and it was Charles who, in his own words, “should have kept his mouth shut.”

Barkley then spoke out against his alma mater, Auburn University, for not hiring Buffalo’s Turner Gill on grounds that Gill is black. Barkley’s rant was never backed up with any hard evidence—the presumption being that everyone should simply know the facts in advance or take Charles’ word that Gill was the better candidate. Auburn hired Iowa State’s Gene Chizik, who had a 5-19 record in two seasons—by contrast, Gill, a former Nebraska quarterback, took over one of the country's worst programs at Buffalo three years ago. Gill guided the Bulls to an 8-5 record and their first MAC championship this season, upsetting previously unbeaten Ball State 42-24 in the Dec. 5 conference championship game. Lost from many discussions was the fact that Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2004, when the Tigers finished 13-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. I can’t say I entirely disagree with Charles on this point, but once again, the message was discredited by (the character of) the messenger. The issue lies in the fact that college football program directors are not obliged—as are their NFL counterparts—to have a diverse candidate pool.

Fast forward to present day. Barkely gets arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. The Dallas Morning News reports that Barkley told Arizona cops that he ran a stop sign because he was in a hurry to pick up a girl who had "given him (oral sex) one week earlier," which the former NBA star described as "the best one he had ever had in his life." I know newspapers are struggling to maintain readership these days and titillating headlines sell papers (and advertising), but this falls in the category of “things we really did NOT need to know.”

An Open Letter to Charles Barkley…
Dear Charles,
You were truly a great NBA forward in your day, and truly prophetic in your declaration that you are “not a role model,” but you could have saved us all great pain by NOT participating in “kiss and tell”—I’m still trying to burn the image from my brain! As I suspect you will be retaining your TNT gig, I hope you will be contrite in response to inquiries of this latest episode of your own stupidity from your panel compadres, Ernie and Kenny. For the record, you owe it to the public who, despite your admonishment to do otherwise, do see you as a role model. You owe it to them to convey that “credible messages can’t come from the in-credible people” such as yourself.

Despite all of your antics—past and present—you still have a great opportunity to make a difference given your notoriety. Don’t waste that opportunity, lest you fall into that category of African-American athletes who were hugely talented, but were (and are) undermined by their own narcissistic tendencies—e.g., Terrell Owens, Adam “Pacman” Jones, Mike Tyson. All of these men, like you, were physically gifted at their respective sports, but despite multiple opportunities, continue to screw up in life.

If not from me, take some advice from those whom I know you respect—Magic Johnson, Tiger Woods, Michael Wilbon, and Michael Jordan come to mind. Personally, I think you’re a better man than them in that you’ve always been willing to state your honest opinion about controversial topics—something today’s athletes are loathe to do for fear of losing endorsement opportunities. That said, you’re running out of chances, Charles. The Bizarro act is getting old. You can’t expect folks to respect your opinion—never mind vote for you—if you can’t manage to act like an adult for an extended period of time. It’s time to man up, Chuck. It’s up to you now.
Peace,
+THINKER