Charles Barkley is quick to share an opinion, but, on Sunday, he shared some insight into what made the Leeds native who he is and why.
The NBA analyst joined “60 Minutes” in a wide-ranging interview, which included Barkley explaining his lowest moment, his greatest high and why he played so angry.
To understand the anger, you have to go back to Barkley’s childhood in Leeds, Alabama.
“I was very angry,” Barkley told Jon Wertheim about his dad leaving when he was 1. “And I was even angrier cause he kept sayin’ he was gonna send us money, and he didn’t do it. ‘Cause like, you know, my mom and grandma were workin’ their behinds off. And the thing that was really bad about it, I was standin’ by the mailbox (waiting for the checks), like, once every three or four months.”
That’s where it started.
It continued at the high school football stadium where he stood, at a distance, watching his classmates graduate.
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“I flunked Spanish, so I didn’t graduate,” he said. “I was at home all by myself, devastated. And I drove around the backside here, and I stood here for two hours and watched the graduation. And I cried the whole time. Even now, it’s kinda hittin’ me in a, in the heart a little bit. Man, what a traumatic night that was.
He even remembered the teacher because it was part of what fueled him.
“Ms. Gomez,” he said. “I’ll never forget that. And Ms. Gomez, when I go back and think, was one of the sweetest, kindest people I’d ever met in my life. But in that moment, I was so mad ‘cause, you know, I wanted to throw my hat in the air, too.”
It was those two instances that he used when playing basketball.
“I was playing to stick it to my dad, Ms. Gomez, and some of the kids who had made fun of me, instead of just wantin’ to be great at basketball.”
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It wasn’t until 1991, he learned to get rid of the hate.
That was the year he spit on a heckler during a game in New Jersey. And, in the process, inadvertently hit a young girl.
It was the low point of his career.
“I got suspended, rightfully so,” Barkley said. “I was sitting in my hotel room, and I was like, ‘You are the biggest loser in the world.’ I remember saying, ‘This is it tonight.’”
It was at that point he made a decision to be different, to be better.
“I am only gonna play basketball ‘cause I’m great at it, and I love to play,” he explained. “I’m getting all the dirt off my shoulders. Ms. Gomez, bye. Dad, bye. That was really the turning point for me.”
From that point, there was nothing but success on the basketball court for Barkley. Still, it wasn’t what gives him joy. His ultimate happiness comes in the form of a grandson.
“It is by far and away the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life,” Barkley said. His daughter, Christiana, now 33, recently had a son, Henry.
“It lives up to the hype,” Barkley said. “I want to spend time with him, because I’m not morbid. I’m not upset. I’m on the back nine. I hope I’m on hole 10 or 11, but you never know. I could be on 17 and 18. So I wanna spend as much time with him as possible. And then when he gets older, I want him to Google me. ...
“I hope he does some research on me. I’ll be long gone, but I would like him to know that I accomplished some things in my life.”
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
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