The old saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” has rarely felt truer lately than watching The NBA. When The NBA Restart started, it felt like there was an embarrassment of riches, where there were so many games that you could flip through three channels and see how much you were missing. It was a pleasure overload. Now, with The Championships quickly approaching, it feels strange to go a day without a game. The number of updates I received for every team was exciting and more than anything it gave me plenty to stay occupied.
Though the one thing that I am going to miss in all of this, even more, is the absence of NBA on TNT’s Inside the NBA. Plain and simple, there hasn’t been a better recap series at this time. I almost loathe when it’s revealed that ESPN is airing the game because their commentary can be lacking, focusing on basic stats and pointless praise of The Bubble’s 360⁰ camera angles (they are cool, though). I’m worried that when The Championship shifts to ABC that I won’t get to hear Inside the NBA’s insight between now and the start of next season.
Because, more than anything, there’s strong chemistry between its four hosts. There’s a playfulness that allows the show to at times feel more freeform. There’s an expectation that you get watching the show. Everyone has a brutal honesty and, while I’ve largely disagreed with them on The Los Angeles Lakers this season, you respect them because they’re not only commentators. They have put in the hours. They have won championships and titles. Basketball is in their DNA, and it’s a subtle detail that makes it all better. There’s a friendship that other shows have missed.
Most of all, I’m just going to miss “Sir Charles” Barkley a.k.a.: Chuckster, The Round Mound of Rebound. Whereas co-host Shaquille O’Neal has transcended sports to become a general icon, I feel like Barkley is The NBA’s worst kept secret. You wouldn’t know how enjoyable he is to listen to unless you’ve spent hours watching games, hearing him get agitated, and picking friendly fights with his co-hosts. As I discovered in research, he’s also been in a ton of commercials, spawning catchphrases like “That’s turrible” and “I may be wrong, but I doubt it.”
But most recently, my favorite has been watching him try to predict The Playoffs. Whenever his confidence shines through, he will say like a carnival barker “I guar-on-tee!” It’s addictive because you know one of two things is about to happen. He’s either about to be seen as a genius, or (as has been the case recently) a very foolish man. Remember when The Los Angeles Clippers played The Denver Nuggets and were up by more than a dozen points? Barkley guaranteed The Clippers would win THAT GAME. That was the start of their downward spiral.
I can’t fully explain why Barkley has become quickly endearing to me. While I have been doing my best to catch reruns of games on Hardwood Classics, I’ve had trouble tracking down his pivotal years with The Phoenix Suns. Still, there is a part of me that knew him instinctually. He was one of those players that everyone knew and he has a bulldog quality. Watching old videos, the thing that feels most apparent is how blunt he is. He may be cruel or even offensive, but he’s able to look confident in his opinion. He’s not saying things to rile up a crowd. He’s just being Chuck.
Considering recent controversial statements regarding Breonna Taylor (the latest in a career’s worth), it feels like a good time to look on one phrase that has defined him more than any nickname, more than that Public Enemy shout-out. It’s something that makes any disagreement somehow more tolerable than the time that The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan notoriously said “Republicans wear sneakers, too.” Where Jordan had to live up to a virtuous lifestyle, Barkley flat out said something that would define him and unintentionally turn him into a bad boy:
“I am not a role model.”
To be fair, Barkley wasn’t the baddest boy in basketball during this time. Anyone familiar with The Detroit Pistons and Dennis Rodman will know very well what reckless antics they got up to. If anything, Barkley could back up his brute reputation with actual playing, managing to prove his worth with excellent dunking skills.
There was one moment, in particular, where he began his reputation as a bad boy. Amid a booming career, there was a fateful game where The Suns played against The New Jersey Nets. In 1991, there was a story that the athlete had been fined and suspended for spitting on a young girl. The actual intention was for him to attack someone who was shouting racist remarks at him but missed. To Barkley’s character, he apologized and deeply regretted the action. He’s become friends with the family and has admitted it as a time when he needed to calm down. Still, he’s had a storied career that would definitely make what follows seem far worse than what he intended.
At the time, Nike’s shoe brand wasn’t selling as well as competitor Adidas. The company was trying to find any way to appeal to a young demographic. That is when they turned to NBA athletes like Barkley, believing that he could bring in sales. In 1993, negotiations started for the 30-second commercial that proved to be just as confusing in preproduction. While Barkley claims that he came to Nike with the idea, there is no direct evidence to suggest who originated it. To make matters worse, NBA head David Stern refused to let Barkley wear any NBA-licensed merchandise in the ad, resulting in him wearing generic Nike gear.
It is said that Barkley shot the black-and-white ad in roughly an hour. The gist of it found a mix of footage of him shooting baskets with him speaking directly to the camera. As he spoke, he shared this personal message, which some found a bit too confrontational:
“I am not a role model. I’m not paid to be a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball, doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”
There are a variety of ways to read it. The most intentional, and the one that Barkley has defended for decades, is that he’s an athlete. His job isn’t to mentor kids and present a good depiction of how to live your life. He’s about the sport. It is up to the parents to present a responsible and morally sound way to live life. Find your values from those you love, and not some stranger who owes you nothing but a good game.
Plain and simple, that is the intention that I understand coming out of it. If it came from any more milquetoast athlete, there’s a good chance that it wouldn’t have sparked as much controversy as it did. But because it was Barkley, it became clear that some read it as him evading any responsibility to be a good representation of his community. After all, he was the man who would notoriously toss someone out a window at Phineas Phoggs in 1997 when he was on The Houston Rockets. Rodman may have been even more reckless, but he somehow seemed safer to be around just because his vices were a needless extravagance.
As one can guess, Nike’s collaboration with Barkley was off to a controversial start. On the one hand, this was necessary in order to get any continuous press. It was also doing wonders to take away attention from Adidas, which was the bigger goal. Everyone wanted to get their hands on Barkleys. Many have considered it one of the more underrated in terms of NBA-endorsed shoes, worthy of being discussed alongside The Air Jordan.
Still, there is a reason that The Air Jordan is talked about while people couldn’t tell you that Barkley’s catchphrase came from a shoe commercial. On the one hand, it was so ubiquitous with Barkley that you could’ve written the commercial before he did. It’s what makes it ingenious. It is so much within his character that it only helps to build the mythology in significant ways, cementing his legacy as more than a really good athlete who earned 11-time NBA All-Star and1993’s Most Valuable Player. You were going to remember him. Even if Inside the NBA never existed, you could point to Barkley and say “isn’t that the guy who isn’t a role model?”
It permeated culture quite effectively. Everyone had a comment not only on Barkley’s reputation if athletes owed it to fans to have reputable legacies. If you asked Jordan, there was almost a necessity. It’s why any vague disagreement with the media was considered flagrant. When asking The Utah Jazz’s Karl Malone for Sports Illustrated, he claimed that:
"Charles...I don't think it's your decision to make. We don't choose to be role models, we are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one."
Based on Malone’s words, you could argue that if Barkley was a role model, he was a bad one. Even if he was a reputable player, his personal life was full of controversies that continued to rise over the decades. It’s likely why the commercial struck such a chord with audiences. If he should’ve been considered a role model in anything, it was for how to play basketball. Otherwise, it’s encouraging you to follow your own trail, have values that aren’t formed by media but your own life. The brilliance of the ad is that Barkley isn’t saying to worship him in spite of not being a role model. His advice is sound. If anything, having somebody to tell you to listen to your parents is the one piece of advice you should take from him. Also, you’re less likely to feel disappointed by every last comment you disagree with him on.
It’s become a recurring gag throughout the years. In almost every new ad for Nike, Barkley has to make some shout-out to his role model comments, often in comical ways. While it could be seen as a bit tiresome, it does help to distinguish himself from others. Even in an ad where he’s comparing himself to Jordan, there’s some playful duality in how both see their careers. After all, they’ve been buddies in the commercial business since teaming with The Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird for a McDonald’s ad where Bird and Jordan told Barkley that they couldn’t play H.O.R.S.E. with them.
Unlike Rodman, I think that Barkley’s penchant for being a bit prickly hasn’t hurt his overall endearment in later years. Sure, one could hope his tendency for violence and gambling would go down, but at least he seems genuine now. Sometimes you’d get mad at him, but he always found ways to redeem himself. It’s the type of behavior that’s constantly made reporters joke that “looks like Barkley is a role model after all!” It’s all a bit facetious, but only reflective of why he continues to stick around. It’s clear that he’s able to disagree with you and still respect your opinion.
In the years since the ad, Stern has personally told Nike and Barkley that he still doesn’t like the ad. It also feels like everyone who even remembers it takes time to ask him if he still stands by the comments. He will tell you that it’s the proudest moment of his career. It’s advice that continues to resonate and ask the question “what is a role model?” There’s a difference between favoring someone because you like how they play or dress and follow their actions. While it still may look bad for some to see Barkley as escaping criticism, it still leads to a substantial conversation.
Though more than anything, Barkley has not been a role model when it comes to predicting this season’s playoff games. More often than not, he’s gotten it wrong. I’ve personally missed hearing him yell “I guar-on-tee!” as if his game prediction was going to make a difference. Then again, The Lakers are the only thing he’s been sure about this whole time. Whatever he says, it’s fun to be listening to that conversation. Without having to worry about being a bad role model, he’s allowed to be himself, and that’s the only way I’d like to ever see him be.
Comments
Post a Comment