With all the injuries he has had, I think it would be a minor miracle if he won another major.ĭeitsch: You were once very close friends with Tiger. I don’t think he can do it because of these young kids out there. I think it would be amazing if he could win a major. I think Tiger has created a generation of these young monsters out there that will be very difficult for him to beat. No disrespect to Jack Nicklaus, but I think Tiger played against much stiffer competition because the other countries are a lot better than they were in Jack’s day. I think Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer who has ever lived. Martin Luther King was the most peaceful person, and imagine telling him he could not protest peacefully? It is crazy.ĭeitsch: What do you make of what Tiger Woods is doing right now?īarkley: I think it is awesome. I mean if guys can’t protest the national anthem peacefully? Dr. It goes back to the whole silly thing about the national anthem. Black athletes have always been at the forefront of civil rights and we ain’t going to stop now. You have Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Carlos, Tommy Smith. Why was it important to you to be vocal on this?īarkley: Go back and look at history. That is depressing.ĭeitsch: We saw you on Saturday Night Live offer some very strong words on Fox host Laura Ingraham telling LeBron James and Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble” and not opine on politics. Think about this: They bombed the church the year I was born and now it is 2018 and you still see stuff all the time. We are still having the same issues 55 years later. So to answer your question, no.īarkley: It is a very depressing thought. The year I was born (1963) was the year they bombed the church in Birmingham. Do you believe racism will end in her lifetime?īarkley: That’s a great question. The Saturday at the Final Four is the coolest thing I have been to other than the Olympics.ĭeitsch: So you want to keep working the NCAA studio show until you quit then, right?ĭeitsch: You have spoken a lot on race in the past two years and last year hosted a four-episode documentary series about race relations for TNT called “ American Race.” Your daughter is in her 20s. The things I have been able to do and see with my life outweigh any negativity that goes with my body.ĭeitsch: If 60 is going to be the age you step away from sports broadcasting, what is something left for you professionally that you really want to do?īarkley: I think March Madness is the coolest thing I have done. I expect it to be bad but the pros of what basketball has given me really outweigh the negatives. I see some of these guys who are older than me walking around.ĭeitsch: Are you worried about how your health will be at 65 or 70?īarkley: No, I am not worried about it. Playing in the NBA for 16 years was great but there are some side effects. But I am looking at 60 as the end.ĭeitsch: What is the toughest thing about being 55 years old?īarkley: I have two new hips and I have a lot of aches and pains. What changed?īarkley: Well, number one, money (laughs). From 60 to 70, I just want to enjoy life.ĭeitsch: You have previously told me when we spoke that you were considering quitting broadcasting but you have stuck around. That is no disrespect to old people, but I don’t think you are going to be having a lot of fun at 70 or 75. In a wide-ranging conversation with The Athletic, he discussed why he wants to retire from sports broadcasting at 60, the end of his friendship with Tiger Woods, why racism will exist long after he’s gone, the emergence of the Toronto Raptors, and many other topics.ĭeitsch: How many more years do you want to work as a broadcaster?īarkley: I’m trying to make it to 60 because I still want to be young enough where I can enjoy my life and have fun. “Listen, I live in Arizona for a reason I don’t want any snow,” Barkley says, laughing.īarkley has always been generous with his time with sportswriters and this week was no different. The foot of snow that has hit New York City, however, is something he could do without. It has become one of Barkley’s favorite broadcasting assignments, and he’ll be in San Antonio on March 31 and April 2 for the Final Four and title game. In a couple of hours, he will head to the CBS Sports studios in Midtown to continue his role as a Turner Sports on-air college basketball studio analyst for the shared CBS/Turner coverage of the NCAA Tournament. NEW YORK - Charles Barkley is on the phone and lets you know he has survived the latest Nor’easter to hit New York City.
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