The NBA has not only provided basketball fans with exciting games that fans can talk about for days but it’s also presented lovable characters through the athletes that come through the league’s doors.
Charles Barkley is one of the most beloved players the league has ever produced. The Hall of Fame power forward is widely considered to be one of the most dominant players the league has ever seen, and he’s cut a post-playing career for himself as a lovable figure on television.
However, the life he’s led isn’t all peachy. He shared that being a black public figure has its own set of challenges that other celebrities don’t have to face.
Charles Barkley shares the importance of being a black public figure
In the most recent episode of Club Shay Shay, Barkley talked about being a black person in the public eye and the importance of what he’s doing.
Per The Spun’s Kameron Duncan:
“Being Black, I think I’m representing something bigger,” Barkley told ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe on the latter’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast.
“I’m really conscious of everything I say. You’ve got to be, because there is a double standard,” said the basketball legend.
“Because one thing that drives me crazy is when people use code words describing me, you, Stephen A., guys like that.”
He argued that white personalities aren’t subject to the same type of scrutiny he and other black celebrities go through. He reasons that he has to be careful so the media doesn’t take his statements out of context and used in a statement that would hurt his image.
Hearing this come from a person as popular as Charles Barkley is difficult to hear. The 11-time All-Star is looking at celebrity cluture in such a way that one wrong move would see him get admonished in the public eye.
While steps are being taken to ensure celebrities like Barkley don’t feel that way, it may still take a while before him and his peers can finally let their hair down.
Until that happens, fans will have to watch him on Inside the NBA with these thoughts in mind.
More must-reads: