Why Did Charles Barkley Give Up Football? Exploring Hall of Famer’s Short-Lived Stint With His Favorite Sport

Can Charles Barkley play football? ‘Chuck’ sure gives a lot of valuable advice on football and the players. However, this seamless verbal prowess doesn’t show success on the gridiron, where monstrous skills and athleticism are necessary. Many who have seen the NBA legend play on the court might think that Barkley could have excelled in the sport. However, the fact is that he tried his luck in football but couldn’t succeed.

Here’s a glimpse into Barkley’s short-lived venture into football.

Charles Barkley’s failed foray in football

Football is something he picked up in high school in Alabama. Encouraged by the coach to play football, ‘Chuck’ soon realized that it just didn’t come under his expertise. In a conversation with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, Barkley shared that after struggling and reaching his limit on his first day of playing football, he gave up on the sport. 

“My friends make fun of me. I played football for one day…I said, you (football coach) made a mistake talking me (Barkley) into playing football because I played the one day and I just ran into, I said, I just ran into a guy full speed for like 2 hours. This is stupidest s**t ever,” Barkley said. 

Barkley recalled sitting in the locker room, beaten and bruised up when the coach approached him again. As soon as the coach reminded him about practice for the next day,  Chuck politely refused him. “I was totally, this is the first day of practice and the coach says, I’ll see y’all tomorrow. I said, wait, we doing this tomorrow? And I said, I’m not doing this tomorrow,” Barkley said to Sharpe.

Although his first encounter didn’t go the way he wanted, this one practice session made him have immense respect for the sport and its players. He has always and continues to admire the toughness that is required to play these two sports. He further added that football and boxing are the two sports where players have a greater risk of injuries and they can’t cheat their way into victory. “One of the reason football is my favorite sport, I think it takes tremendous courage. That and boxing are by far and away my two favorite sports because you can’t cheat,” Barkley said. 

We often see the Philadelphia 76ers legend share his valuable advice about football teams in The Steam Room Podcast ahead of the games. Here is what he thinks about Austin Rivers’ comment on the NFL.

Charles Barkley dismissed Austin Rivers’ latest bold claim

Recently, ESPN analyst and former NBA player, Austin Rivers, made a bold claim about NFL and NBA players at The Pat McAfee Show. Sparking a debate among fans and veterans, he stated that at least 30 NBA players can play football, while NFL players can’t play basketball. 

Among many, the Phoenix Suns legend also shared his opinion on it. Speaking from his own experience, Barkley alluded that, while he respects Rivers, many players, including himself, can’t play football. “Oh, I’ve got to call out Austin Rivers. Austin Rivers, you know I love you. We can’t play football,” Barkley said in the TNT show after the Game 2 between Knicks and Pacers. 

Golf and ‘Chuck’ are a different story. They share a love-hate relationship. ‘Sir Charles’ was initially good at golfing, but a sudden weird swing brought a string of bad luck. However, he persevered and continued to improve his swing. Football, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be the same. While the Basketball Hall of Famer may not be an expert in these two sports, the 11x NBA All-Star ‘Chuck’ has shown his skills and prowess in the NBA.

What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments section below.