Despite $20 million earnings, Charles Barkley Was Told Not to Take Care of Family for 1 Reason

Charles Barkley believes in affection for family but not in obligations. Appearing on ‘Club Shay Shay‘, Barkley stated how he even advises the young kids to do something for their parents or siblings. But they should not feel obligated to get their relatives on their payroll. Notably, this is something a former teammate’s mother advised on the Philadelphia 76ers. More importantly, the advice came before his trade with the Phoenix Suns. His contract with the Suns and later with the 76ers earned him over $20 million. So this advice, in a way, came $20 million early for Barkley.

Speaking on ‘Club Shay Shay‘, Chuck recollected the time when his teammate on the 1996 Olympics team Grant Hill had his parents visiting them during the time. As per what the 76ers star stated, he wanted to leave for work after a couple of games. However, Barkley tried convincing them they don’t have to since Grant had signed a $100 million contract. Barkley recalled this to be the moment Hill’s mom advised, “do not start taking care of family and friends.”

He further explained her advice, mentioning that she told him once he undertakes financial care of people, it becomes a never-ending cycle. And the first time he will say no to someone, that relationship will be over. Later, even Barkley himself noticed this phenomenon with certain individuals, as per his claims. “People I had been giving money to, the first time I told them, no, they like, no, no, we’re not friends anymore. That was a tough and painful lesson,” he said on “Club Shay Shay‘.

However, it is not as if Barkley does not help people or does not make any financial contributions anywhere. In fact, the Sixers star has been somewhat of a philanthropist with his Charles Barkley Foundation since 1995.

Some instances which reflected Charles Barkley’s affectionate side

The most popular incident that revealed Chuck’s empathetic side was his visit to a fan who was dying of cancer. Notably, Barkley was at the peak of his career when this case came forward, but he still took time and flew all the way down to this fan to visit him.

Apart from this, Barkley has time and again made charitable donations as well, though he keeps them low-key. As per an article by Access Atlanta in 2022, on such instance was Charles Barkley pledging to donate $1M to Atlanta’s Spelman College. One reason for Barkley choosing this Historically Black College/University (HBCU) was the impact the school had on his business partner and friend’s daughter, John Hudson.

“John has been a great mentor, a great friend and a great business partner… I was ready to do another HBCU, and with his daughter doing great things at Spelman, I told him, ‘Why not there?'” Barkley said, as per the article. Apart from this, the former 76ers star is also leaving $5 million for the students of color at Auburn University.

“In my will, I am leaving Auburn $5 million… I’m going to change it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That’s just my way of trying to make sure Auburn stays diverse,” he said as per Al.com. These instances are enough proof that Charles Barkley is not a cold-hearted person. But as stated earlier, he just believes in affection more than any obligation, even if it’s his own family.