- News
- basketball
- Charles Barkley blasts NCAA’s ‘stupidest’ betting rule, has ‘zero faith’ in rule enforcement
Charles Barkley blasts NCAA’s ‘stupidest’ betting rule, has ‘zero faith’ in rule enforcement
Charles Barkley, never one to filter his thoughts, went off on the NCAA this week with the kind of unfiltered energy usually reserved for a heated post-game analysis on TNT. Speaking at the Bruce, Barkley and Basketball Golf Classic in Opelika with former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, Sir Charles launched into a three-minute rant that felt like a group text with your most opinionated basketball-loving friends.His main target? The NCAA's head-scratching new rule that will allow college athletes to bet on professional sports, a decision Barkley labeled 'the stupidest shit' with the kind of exasperation you'd expect from a fan watching their team blow a 20-point lead. 'I have zero faith in them.Zero faith in them,' Barkley declared, his disbelief palpable as he shook his head at the governing body he sees as fundamentally lost. He framed the move as the ultimate own-goal, comparing it to 'putting your kids in the kitchen and turning the stove on,' a perfectly chaotic analogy for a system he believes is already a 'shitshow.' This wasn't just a stray comment; it was the crescendo of a broader critique of a college sports landscape he views as completely broken. While Barkley is adamant that players should get 'whatever they can get' in this new NIL era, he sees the current model as 'unsustainable,' a chaotic free-for-all where boosters are asked to cough up 'millions and millions of dollars every year' and players become 'free agents every year.' He pointed out the sheer absurdity of the real world operating this way, noting, 'There’s nobody here that’s got a job where they can get another job if somebody offered them more money every year. That’s just not how the world works.' But his real venom was reserved for the transfer portal, which he fears is creating a system where 'the big schools are going to come and cherry pick your players every year,' a dynamic he believes will 'kill the small schools. ' He even took a shot at the eligibility rules, joking that if you're in college for 'six or seven years, you should be Dr.Barkley and not Charles Barkley the basketball player at five different schools. ' All of this context makes the betting rule the final straw, the moment of such profound institutional incompetence that it demands a public intervention.'Why would you even do that if you’re the NCAA? Are you serious right now?' he asked, his voice dripping with a mix of fury and disbelief. For Barkley, it’s a simple equation: 'We already have issues with kids gambling now when they shouldn’t be gambling.This is just crazy. ' It was a classic Chuck performance—no filter, all passion, and a whole lot of common sense delivered with the force of a powerful dunk.
It’s quiet here...Start the conversation by leaving the first comment.