![Charles Barkley]()
Some sports stars turned celebrities get a taste of the spotlight and let it completely separate them from reality. But Charles Barkley is a major exception to that rule.
The 11-time NBA all-star turned incredible basketball analyst has given us some of the best moments in sports media history, thanks to the dream team of Ernie Johnson, Shaq, Kenny Smith, and himself on TNT's
Inside the NBA.
Whether he's
feuding with the city of Galveston, Texas, saying he'd root for
Afghanistan over Alabama no matter the circumstances, or giving us a slew of
behind the scenes footage that will have you tearing up with laughter, the Round Mound of Rebound has never had his perspectives changed by the fame and money he's accumulated throughout his career and just recently he made an appearance on CNBC to reaffirm his stance as one with the common fan.
In a 40 second statement, Barkley tore into the money-hungry business practices of the league, specifically their consistent selling of games to the highest bidder, many of which are streaming services only accessible to those with a paid subscription, something he's
gone after the NFL for in the past.
He said:
"You got greedy players and greedy owners. They don't really care about anything but how to make the most money possible. We should never put money above the regular fan. Everybody can't afford streaming, there's nothing wrong with streaming but when you start just going to the highest bidder and you're not on regular television, I think you do a disservice to the fan.
But in fairness, the players want to make as much money as possible, the owners want to make as much money as possible. But... the fan's always the most important thing because if no matter how much money you make if people are not watching it's a lose-lose proposition."
Very well said, Sir Barkley.
Granted, I think the younger generations pay for cable at a much, much lower rate than the elders among us. I personally don't have cable but do pay for a few streaming services so more often than not the games that are on streaming platforms are more accessible to me, but I understand that that's still not true for the majority of people.
I've heard very few people say bad things about Charles Barkley and this right here is yet another example of why he's one of the most liked personalities in all of sports media.
https://twitter.com/Jacobtheclipper/status/1811795265051127885
Just as an example, next season the NFL will utilize a whopping NINE broadcast partners, including television networks and streaming services:
https://twitter.com/MorningBrew/status/1790812213164347509
