Chuck Does a No-No

I love Charles Barkley. Being a shorter and stockier guy I always modeled my basketball skills after Sir Charles. As a Power Forward Barkley was listed at 6’6″ 250 lbs. This is heavily undersized for that position but Charles is one of only six people to finish his career averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds. Those other six players are Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Bob Petit, and George Mikan. Just let that sink in… Barkley was doing what all these guys were doing in the 50s and 60s in the 90s where the NBA was at its arguably toughest. The way you could gobble up boards and get some easy put-back dunks made him one of my favorite players of all time, even if he is an Auburn Alumni. However, Chuck’s legacy and professional career was plagued with controversy over his attitude. He believed that he had to be tougher than everyone else in order to be great. One faithful night however he let that toughness brand get himself in trouble.

The Round Mound of Rebound made his living being one of the NBA’s toughest and most dominant big men in the era where the big guys were beginning to fade. During the 90s we all know who would steal the show: “His Airness” Michael Jordan. It comes to no surprise that many people believe that Charles Barkley is one of the greatest players to never win an NBA championship, and its because of the man I just mentioned. Barkley and the Suns did, however, face Jordan’s Bulls in the 1993 Finals in arguably Barkley’s best year of competition. As we all know, those Bulls were too much for any team back then and Charles never had the chance to return to the mountain top again. However, this did not stop him from being an absolute beast on the backboards. Barkley is listed in the top-20 in all-time rebounds, and this is no small feat for a man of his size. 6’6″ is the size of some Point Guards in today’s NBA. There would be no competition if they battled in the paint. Barkley’s energy, attitude, and purpose of trying to prove the haters wrong made him great, but later on in his career when he was suited up with the Houston Rockets he let that anger get a hold of him. For the record, this was not during a game or even in the stadium. This incident happened at a bar where a drunk man met Charles Barkley, and trust me he would not soon forget that name.

As the story goes Barkley along with Rockets teammate Clyde Drexler went to a bar in downtown Orlando. They arrived at 11 p.m. and Barkley was signing autographs and having a good time. A man by the name of Jorge Lugo was seen to be cussing at Charles Barkley and allegedly even throwing a cup of ice on the NBA star. However, Barkley I assume was angry and frustrated, but he kept his cool and just told the guy to leave him and his friends alone. Well… this guy didn’t listen to the 6’6″ NBA legend and proceeded to throw a glass at Barkley and his group, hitting one of the women that were hanging around the table in the jaw. Now The Round Mound of Rebound was furious. After a quick scuffle Barkley wrestled the man away from an officer trying to restrain him and threw him through the glass of the bar. Lugo suffered a couple of minor cuts to his arm from the incident and probably a hit to his ego as well. Before Barkley was detained and taken to the Orange County Jail he said a few words to Lugo. “For all I care, you can lay there and die.” Pretty immense words form someone to say, but Barkley always dealt with bigger guys picking on him and telling him he couldn’t play basketball. He knew his value and he was used to standing up for himself. Barkley said. “What he did was inappropriate. I’m going to defend myself. Let there be no debate. If you bother me, I’m going to whip your ass. The guy threw ice in my face, and I slammed his ass into the window. I’m not denying that. I defended myself. He got what he deserved.” In hindsight of everything, I should not applaud Barkley for his actions, but I do respect a man who does not back down from bullies. Years later Barkley would come to say that he wishes we would have acted more rationally to the situation, but being tough has its consequences. Controversy surrounded this altercation. I implore you, yes you to take a look at the story as well. See what you think. Was it self-defense or was it malicious and with intent?

Link to the bar fight incident: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1997-10-27-9710270306-story.html

Anyhow thank you for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment on some other stories about NBA players getting their hands full outside of the gym. As always see y’all next time, James.