Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Admitting he’s made “some stupid mistakes” himself, Charles Barkley says he’s reached out in support to suspended Florida Marlins baseball Manager Ozzie Guillen.
Barkley says that if he knew fired Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino, he’d reach out to him, too.
Barkley, former NBA star and current TV analyst, spoke during a radio interview today on The Dan Patrick Show.
Guillen has been suspended for five games amid the fallout over his remarks about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
“I don’t condone what Ozzie said. But he’s apologized. And I reached out to him — I haven’t got in touch with him yet – just (to) tell him to keep his head up,” Barkley told Patrick.
Petrino was fired after a chain of events that began with a motorcycle crash and led to disclosures of a relationship with a female staff member.
“You know, Dan. I’ve made some stupid mistakes in my life. … I would reach out to Bobby Petrino if I knew him, too. … When you are living in that storm, you think the world is going to end,” said Barkley.
“It’s easy for everybody to go crazy on you on radio and TV because everybody gets the God complex when they’re on television and radio, thinking like they ain’t never done anything wrong. … Everybody is just God, judge and jury on you and just crucifies you.”
Barkley referenced two incidents in his past. During a 1991 NBA game, he attempted to spit at a heckling fan he said had been yelling racial slurs. He inadvertently spit on a young girl – to whom he apologized. Barkley also mentioned his 2008 DUI arrest in Arizona.
“The spitting thing was just stupid. That was 100 percent my fault,” said Barkley.
His take on the DUI: “I understand what I did was wrong.”
But, he added, “These people are feeding these people drinks at the game. How do you think these people from games get home? They’re crucifying me. If they want to play judge and jury, don’t sell alcohol at games. Or those people who do the parking lot thing, those tailgaters at every football game every Sunday. … Yeah, I made a mistake, but don’t sit here and act like I’m the worst person in the world and you’re all serving alcohol at these sports events.”
WRITTEN BY Gary Mihoces, USA TODAYÂ & FULL STORY HERE