Charles Barkley is my favorite basketball player of all time, he was dominant on the court and could put away 30 hamburgers during half time. Yea he was a beast. Since leaving the NBA in 2000 Barkley has become the face of TNT's Inside the NBA but has made alot of news for things other than basketball. Sir Charles has admitted to having a gambling problem, so he gambled away a few million dollars...big deal because he always said "i have the money to lose."
Well the other day in an exclusive interview with Inside the NBA partner Ernie Johnson he said that he would no longer gamble. All this in the wake of Las Vegas officials saying Barkley had not paid a $ 400,000 credit line which he was given at the Wynn Casino. Barkley since then has paid off the debt and is in the process of ending his gambling addiction. But the main story here is, why is this making news and why is it any of our business what Charles Barkley does with his money?
ESPN has done plenty of stories on Charles and his problem, yet ESPN nor anyone else have the right to dictate what he is to do with his hard earned money. If he wants to gamble in Vegas and play blackjack at $25,000 a hand that should be his choice. A few years ago in an interview with ESPN's Trey Wingo Barkley admitted to losing close to $10 Million in his life gambling. He also said he at one point lost 2.5 million in a 6 hour period gambling. Previously Barkley had this to say about his gambling, "It's not a problem. If you're a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don't think it's a problem. Do I think it's a bad habit? Yes, I think it's a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I'm going to continue to do it." Barkley then added "No matter how much I win it ain't a lot. It's only a lot when I lose. And you always lose. I think it's fun, I think it's exciting. I'm gonna continue to do it but I have to get to a point where I don't try to break the casino 'cause you never can." So it is clear he use to have a problem even if he didn't know it. Whether its on the golf course or at a casino, anything Barkley does with money will make the headlines.
My only gripe is these current and former professional athletes are all in the lime light for every little thing they do, and they knew that coming into the sport. They gave up a certain level of privacy the second they signed a contract with a professional organization. Yet certain things are just not news worthy, Barkley losing some money isn't exactly front page news, maybe if he shot the dealer after busting him with a blackjack then thats a different story. Well now Chuck says hes done with the bright lights in Vegas, and so its in a Charles Barkley voice when I say, hey Chuck, thats not a "terrible" thing to give up. Good luck.
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