Auburn Legend Charles Barkley Draws Line In Sand Concerning His Alma Mater

Very few athletes in Auburn Tigers history identify with the athletic program more than Charles Barkley. From his days as a standout forward, running, rebounding, and dunking everything in sight to his Hall of Fame professional career and beyond, Barkley can say he's seen and done it all. 

While he loves his alma mater with every fiber in his being, do not count Barkley as someone about to write significant checks to Auburn athletics. Also, in typical Barkley style, he's not shy about expressing how he feels. Especially when he thinks he's the voice of reason. 

When Barkley and Bo Jackson attended Auburn at roughly the same time, few outside of the Plains knew that the former would not only become an all-time great basketball player but also a hilarious analyst for a show that lasted longer than his playing days.

It is with that same energy that made him on the court and behind the desk that Brakley does not want any part of donating to Auburn.

“This notion that you have to come up with tens of millions of dollars to pay kids to play basketball, and have them be free agents every year and transfer to another school and get more money every year,” Barkley told Mark Heim of AL.com. 

“Like, we don’t even get to do that in the NBA. Can you imagine if players in the NBA got to be a free agent every year? I’m not opposed to players getting paid. I want to make that clear. But, this notion we got to give college kids tens of millions of dollars a year, and basketball is the worst because you’re only going to get a great player for six months."

Barkley speaks the truth that many want to avoid. Loyalty to school disappears when the next big offer surfaces. College sports is a one-year proposition. With players switching schools like socks, it becomes a struggle to maintain any semblance of chemistry.

NCAA members raking in billions while trying doggedly to maintain the illusion of the student-athlete is a system that ran its course. But they've overcorrected when it comes to player rights. If they’re going to be paid, multi-year contracts cures a lot of ills in college sports. 

Those players become professional college athletes. You can't build a sustained culture anymore. John Wooden, for all of his greatness, would have struggled keeping his teams together. Why contribute to NIL when you know you will never see that player line up for more than a season or two? 

Charles Barkley doesn't owe his alma mater or his home home state a dime. After contributing to HBCUs and community colleges, he put his money where his mouth is. The state of college sports is in trouble. In a landscape of hired guns, so to speak, the Auburn legend throws his dollars behind endeavors that will enrich the many and not just the few.