After comments reflecting the team in a negative image, Barkley was fined for more than $3000. Though achieving All-Star status from 1987-1991, and Player of the Year honors in 1989-1990, tensions persistently grew after Barkley's first year with the Sixers. Barkley was a key asset to the Dream Team as he racked up the most points on the squad and brought home a gold medal. He received mixed reactions at these games as fans cheered and booed his entrance onto the court. Barkley created this new spotlight by elbowing an Angolan player and drew a technical foul for talking to fans. This new setting gave the talented player a chance to create controversy at the international level. Some felt that Barkley was being irresponsible for not caring about being a role model and others that respected Barkley's forthrightness.įor a second chance as an olympian, Barkley joined the United States "Dream Team" in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Kids can't be like Michael Jordan." Mixed reactions came from the public on Barkley's viewpoint. And what they're really doing is telling kids to look up to someone they can't become, because not many people can be like we are. It's as if they say, this is a young black kid playing a game for a living and making all this money, so we're going to make it tough on him. Barkley asked rhetorically, "A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail should they be role models?" He further opined: "I think the media demands that athletes be role models because there's some jealousy involved. He was well known for his view of separating basketball players from role models. While alienating himself from the city and team, Barkley said, "I don't have to please the public to win, I just have to do my job." Luckily for Barkley, he was one player who could back these statements up through his outstanding playing abilities.īarkley became even more controversial for his views on the status of players in society. Remarks made during and after games sparked conflict among teammates and with the Philadelphia fans. Problems with Barkley's overconfident attitude continued to rise. This became an issue as the novice player bumped heads with head coach, Billy Cunningham. With concerns about Barkley's "uncoachable" reputation and heavy-set body structure, playing time for the rookie was limited as were his statistics: 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Barkley left Auburn early after his junior year to enter the NBA draft where he was the fifth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers.īarkley joined some of the most well-respected players in basketball history: Moses Malone, Julius Erving, and Maurice Cheeks. In 1984, Barkley was invited to come to the Olympic trials where he made the preliminary squad, but was cut by the coach, Bob Knight, after a few snide remarks made by Barkley about the coach. While playing for Auburn junior year, he was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year while helping the school to its second-best win-loss record in 25 years. During the state semi-final game, Barkley had 26 points and Auburn University assistant coach, Sonny Smith, recruited the young player. These led his team to a 26-3 record and to the Alabama state semifinals. With Barkley's new body, he averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds a game. During the summer before his senior year, he had a major growth spurt, growing to 6'4", though still small for a power forward. When junior year came about, Barkley earned a spot on the high school's reserve team. This minor setback did not hinder the determined young player everyday Barkley trained for his next chance to make the squad. As a heavy 5'10" child, he fell short in his efforts to make his high school varsity basketball team. A tragic automobile accident would later take his stepfather's life.īarkley let nothing stand in his way as his emotional and economic disadvantages persevered into his teen years. Throughout grade school, his mother, stepfather, and grandmother raised him. Barkley's mother later remarried his stepfather. Barkley's parents were very young when he was born and, while he was still a baby, his parents separated and got a divorce. As a baby, Barkley suffered from anemia and required a blood transfusion at the age of six weeks. Charles Barkley, one of the most well-known yet controversial players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), overcame adversity from the instant he was born on February 20, 1963, in Leeds, Alabama, to Charcey Glenn.
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