"I don't think it's cool for me to take money I haven't earned," Barkley told ESPN 1000 in Chicago. "My decision is either going to be defer it or give it to charity."
48-year-old Barkley is among those who predict the NBA's labor war ultimately will lead to canceling the entire season.
This could result in Barkley no longer being at the TNT desk with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
"The problem I have is if these guys hold out all season, it's going to be a lot of money," Barkley told ESPN 1000.
"That's why I have to make that decision. I haven't made the final decision,” the former basketball power forward revealed.
He also expressed his support for David Stern, saying it's important that the NBA's commissioner is standing up for small-market teams that are losing money.
"That's what this thing is about," Barkley said. "They're not going to let just the big markets dominate like they do in baseball,” ESPN 100 reports.
Barkley competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States' Dream Team.
“I haven't told anybody, but I'm actually — believe it or not — I'm leaning toward donating it to charity. I don't think it's cool for me to take money I haven't earned,” he said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on Chicago’s ESPN 1000 on Tuesday (via ESPN). “My decision is either going to be defer it or give it to charity. The problem I have is if these guys hold out all season, it's going to be a lot of money. That's why I have to make that decision. I haven't made the final decision. I don't feel comfortable taking money for not working. I'll either defer it or give it to charity.”
Barkley expressed sympathy for the people who aren’t being paid millions to play basketball. “There are two groups I feel bad for. I feel bad for the people who work for these teams, because they're going to start laying off some of these people soon,” he said. “And then I feel bad for the people who work at these arenas. They're going to take the brunt of this. And that's unfortunate.”
Barkley said he wasn’t choosing sides in the labor impasse. “We've been in a recession for basically three years,” he said. “I think it's disingenuous to think all these owners, with as much money as they've been paying, haven't been losing some money. I don't know the answer to [whether they've lost as much as they claim].
Barkley is among those who predict the NBA's labor war ultimately will lead to canceling the entire season, which would mean he won't be at the TNT desk with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
"The problem I have is if these guys hold out all season, it's going to be a lot of money," Barkley told ESPN 1000. "That's why I have to make that decision. I haven't made the final decision."
Barkley also backed David Stern, and said it's important that the NBA's commissioner is standing up for small-market teams that are losing money.
"That's what this thing is about," Barkley said. "They're not going to let just the big markets dominate like they do in baseball."
All about: David Stern, Charles Barkley, TNTurner
No comments:
Post a Comment