Presciently, he criticized CNN early in the 2016 campaign for its obsessive coverage of Trump, chastising the network for “kissing butt” and “chasing ratings.” This summer, he defended NBA players who want to stand during the national anthem. This was also the first season when he made it to the NBA All-Star team. He appeared in 24 games in the playoffs, started all of those, and scored 26.6 points per game in average. ESPN has not issued a comment on the matter. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.". Deeply impressed, he reported back about Barkley by saying, “a fat guy... who can play like the wind". On TNT’s “Inside the NBA” Thursday, the network’s beloved studio team weighed in on a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to only charge one Louisville police officer with “wanton endangerment” in the Taylor case for shooting into neighboring apartments on the night she was killed by police in her own home. Soon enough, he began to demonstrate his potential. He debuted for the Suns on November 7, 1992, in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The second season was not much different. During the 1985-86 season, Barkley’s game drastically improved under the tutelage of Malone. NBA Debut: October 26, 1984. By the time he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang, he had become a household name across the country and had already secured himself an astounding legacy but as the future events would prove, the best years of his basketball career were yet to come. High School: Leeds in Leeds, Alabama. Just as Barkley is now being celebrated in the right-wing media sphere, Jones is being condemned. While expressing sadness about Taylor’s loss of life, he said the case shouldn’t be put in the same category as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery, because Taylor’s boyfriend fired his gun on the plainclothes officers who were executing a no-knock warrant. On March 26, 1991, Barkley was playing for the 76ers against the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) in New Jersey, when an audience member started to heckle him with racial slurs. 16 Cincinnati. ... [+] (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Getty Images. 1986-87. “I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. Build. The 76ers had a team mostly comprised of veterans that season. Charles Barkley has dated – Maureen Blumhardt (1989-Present) – Charles Barkley got married to Maureen Blumhardt in 1989 and the couple has a daughter named Christiana who was born the same year they tied the knot. He would play for three more seasons for the Suns before he was traded to Houston Rockets in 1996. The New York Times reports just one of Taylor’s nearly a dozen neighbors heard the police identity themselves before entering the apartment. They defeated Croatia in the men’s final to win the gold medal. Previously, Reimer was a host and columnist for WEEI in Boston, and has written for several publications, including Boston Magazine and SB Nation. Height. At the time, she was a part-time model in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania as well as a legal aide for a non-profit organization. Charles Barkley did not play the senior season for Auburn. That’s changed through Donald Trump’s presidency, with the coronavirus and nationwide racial reckoning tearing down any last strands of political neutrality. Barkley is an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the most popular sports analysts ever. In a bygone era, sports studio shows were steadfast in their commitments to staying apolitical, routinely avoiding roiling political controversies. Weight. ), applauded Barkley, while many liberal commentators. But Barkley’s comments about the Taylor case are probably his most polarizing, and at least one study shows there’s bipartisan support for keeping politics away from sports programming. He cannot drive viewers away from live game broadcasts. Email him, ajreimer0@gmail.com, © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. "I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in," O'Neal said. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. Since his retirement, Charles Barkley has become a well-respected commentator and analyst, who serves as one of the crew members on ‘Inside the NBA’. However, not wanting the injury to be the final moment of his career, Barkley returned for one more match. 34 jersey. Some controversies about his time at Auburn arose many years after he left the college. It is now part of the job, and network broadcasters seemingly feel as free to share their strong views on police violence as they do about the Lakers’ NBA title chances. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Last year, ESPN released polling data showing 74% of its viewers prefer “zero politics” on the network’s platforms, with 84% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats saying they don’t want to hear politics on the station. Despite his substantial improvements, he failed to attract the attention of any scout. ... [+] (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images). Barkley and Moses Malone, the legendary basketball player who was named MVP three times, developed an almost protégé-mentor relationship. Charles Wade Barkley is a former professional basketball player who is currently affiliated with the ‘Inside the NBA’ television show as one of its hosts. One of the assistants of Auburn University’s head coach, Sonny Smith, was present at the game. Power Forward. Position. But I am worried to lump all these situations in together.