“I Was Sitting in a Hotel Room Crying”: Charles Barkley Reveals His Reaction Upon Reflecting on His Infamous Spitting Incident

Charles Barkley (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for HBO)
Former NBA star Charles Barkley was a tough and aggressive man on the court with his fair share of success and controversies. While most of his on-court actions were visible, some that transformed him went unnoticed. He disclosed some of them while appearing on the Club Shay Shay podcast.

While talking to host Shannon Sharpe, the infamous spitting incident of Barkley came up, which changed him. “I was sitting in a hotel room crying that night, I said, ‘Yo man you an *sshole. Don’t play basketball to try to stick it to people,’” said the 11-time NBA All-Star.

While playing against the New Jersey Nets, Chuck was constantly ridiculed by the hoop enthusiasts at the courtside. On failing to bear it, the hot-headed forward finally gave up in the fourth quarter and spat on a fan. However, the worst part was that the spit didn’t only reach the person directed at but also reached a bystander, an eight-year-old girl.

The incident turned out terribly for Barkley, who was fined $10,000 by the NBA along with a one-game suspension. According to the 61-year-old, this incident had a major impact on him and helped in reshaping himself. Although the mocking from fans was not the major reason behind Barkley’s “angry man” image, rather there were deep-rooted causes.

Charles Barkley Revealed Cause of His Anger During Playing Days

As a kid, Charles Barkley was looked after by his mother and grandmother. Even in his little time with his father, he appeared to be harsh to Chuck. There was someone else who got on his nerves; his high school Spanish teacher, Ms. Gomez.

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Ms. Gomez failed him in her subject, which restricted him from attending summer school as he didn’t graduate. This made Barkley’s father furious and he disciplined little Barkley. He had held all the grudges on the basketball court since a young age, but he learned that focusing on the game rather than the past rage would help him reach a certain point in his career and he strived to be one of the best players in the league. Safe to say that worked as his glittering NBA career proves.