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Barkley: LeBron decision show was a 'national nightmare'

Jul 13, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

61 Comments

What I really would have liked to have heard was Charles Barkley’s opinion on Jesse Jackson’s “slave owner” comments by Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert. But this will have to do. Speaking to Comcast Sports Net on Monday, The Round Mound of Quotes ripped ESPN and James for The Decision show, and then went into a very entertaining riff about the worth of the NBA, and sports in general.

“This has been like the national nightmare. I’ve never been so mad and disappointed in the NBA overall. Number one, they already had this deal done. It’s coming out now. Instead of meeting with all these teams. They already had it done.”

But the best part was Chuckster listing the “only five real jobs in the world.” No, sports blogger isn’t among them.
Video following the jump.


Barkley:

“LeBron should have told the Cavaliers in advance. And Dan Gilbert clearly screwed up, because you can’t say all that stuff. Because he got LeBron off the hook. If Dan Gilbert had just said thank you, and blah blah blah… [Instead] he made look LeBron like a better guy.

“A lot of these guys take themselves a little bit too serious. Let’s see, a teacher, policeman, fireman, doctor, and somebody who’s in the service. I truly believe those are the only five real jobs in the world. Everybody else should just shut the hell up and enjoy life. There’s five legitimate jobs in life.

“It’s an honor and a blessing to play a sport for a living, but come on man. Listen, do we make things better … if someone’s having bad day or a city’s having a tough time? Of course. But you can’t think you’re the greatest thing in the world if you play a sport — you got to keep it all in perspective.”


Five legitimate jobs that Barkley missed:

Garbage collector. Try living without them for a month and see what happens.

Truck driver. Food at your local Taco Bell would only last five days, tops, without resupply. If it’s Barkley’s local Taco Bell, make that five hours.

Animal control officer. Left to their own devices, stray dogs would eventually rise up, conquer humans.

ESPN makeup person. Imagine Chris Berman on the air in his sweaty, natural state; combover in disarray, dark circles under his eyes from the previous night’s debauchery. Talk about your national nightmare …

Pizza delivery guy. This should have been listed first.

***
Barkley On DNL: LeBron James’ National Nightmare and the Future of the Sixers [The 700 Level]

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  1. Ferg - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:02 PM

    Actually (and I’m sure I’m not the first to point this out) Scottie was not there with MJ from day one. Jordan forced the Bulls to trade Olden Polynice to Seattle who had drafted Pippen 5th overall in 1987.
    I’m not really understaning your argument. IF you’re on a team that cannot win it (as Lebron was) why not exercise your right to go to team that can. You can bet if Magic didn’t have Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy (and he was in a smaller market like Cleveland) there is a good chance that he would have exercised his right to go to a bigger market to a team with 2 top players. Bird and Jordan too (minus the bigger market) But those guys had 2 other STAR players on their rosters. Lebron wants to win. And he will in Miami.

  2. Andy - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:03 PM

    quick, get the dogs, one of em’s gettin away

  3. Cire - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:09 PM

    Anyone have a basketball. Lemonflavored-beera took his and went home. Along with the rest of his toys. Crying as he went.

  4. M12071941 - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:11 PM

    CB is saying what needs to be said in a position where his peers will not. TV is entertainment and if every sport caster said the right thing, we wouldn’t have the never ending spectacle we have right now.

  5. riscifiguy - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:20 PM

    LeBron has showen himself to a greatyer egomaniac then even Bret Farve. No one in professional sports (possibly excepting a few European soccer players) have anything close to this level of ego.
    Its disgusting and makes every youth sport coach at any level in any sport.
    If this was really all agreed before hand, then everything he did, everything Bosch did, and everything Wade did was nothing but deliberate lies. Lies are lies, even if your agent tells you too ( ex: Scott Boras), the player still owns the stink!

  6. bballfan - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:26 PM

    actually chicago did import a few players, dennis rodman and a couple of othrs that were not part of the original core bulls, but there is nothing wrong with going for it with a new team, just dont turn it into a circus and act like the world revolves around lebrick, and also i noticed someone said how magnamous lebrick was for going to the heat for “less” money, shoot his endorsements and the sales from his new jersy are worth more than that overblown salary, i just am glad to see he will fail in miami as he failed in cleveland, i feel sorry for wade though he had to put up with super ego shaq now he has a bigger ego to deal with in lebrick the dick. lebron your a classless piece of $h!+ and deserve all teh scorn your getting just remember your nothing if there were no fans to bolster your ego

  7. willyjsimmons - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:28 PM

    I’ve never in my life seen a bunch of dudes get this emotional over ANYTHING.
    LOL
    Calm the F down, folks.

  8. bballfan - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:31 PM

    your right we will see the heat…too bad it will be all about how the big 3 are crashing and burning, and how lebrick is now pissed cuz he is not getting enough air time lol, i have to add i like d wade great player but he deserves more than “the super ego” lebron and the “i have to be the man” bosh. didnt he earn his dues dealing with the king of ego’s shaq LOL

  9. allstart - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:31 PM

    So let me see…I’ve worked at my job for 7 years, done the best with what I had but the job’s a dead-end, and I think I can do more with my talent, get further in my field. All of a sudden, a door opens and I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach my full potential. Mmm…what should I do? Stay where I’m at and hope things improve on their own, or take the chance to improve my situation and potential by making a career-changing decision? Mmm, yeah you’re right, I’ll just sit tight and things will work out on their own and eventually, I’ll reach my potential.
    What a joke! How many people commenting have turned down a raise or a promotion with another company so you can stay where you’re at?

  10. Geronimo - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:47 PM

    I don’t buy this garbage about Lebron getting off the hook cuse of DG’s remarks. This rediculous notion was invented by ESPN and sports talk radio to have an excuse to kiss LeBronte’s hienny again. He’s still a narcissistic, clutchless, quitter.

  11. DOUBLE DIPPED - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:51 PM

    I THINK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD JUST LET LEBRON BE…HIS CONTRACT WAS UP AND HE HAD A RIGHT TO GO WHEREEVER HE WANTED. HE WANTS TO WIN JUST AS EVERYONE ELSE.

  12. whutevr - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:51 PM

    actually allstart, dont you dare use that kind of example to get your point across, these over paid primadonnas, are nothing like real people people that work everyday to make ends meet, when your the captain and heart of a team like mj was its up to you to make your team better and the cavs bent over backwards to surround him with other players, mj wanted better players he got them lbj wanted better players he got them the difference mj stuck with his team in good times and bad thats the real heart of a champion, something ledick doesnt have now or never will. please dont make excuses for that pathetic little child lebrick

  13. whutevr - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:52 PM

    actually allstart, dont you dare use that kind of example to get your point across, these over paid primadonnas, are nothing like real people people that work everyday to make ends meet, when your the captain and heart of a team like mj was its up to you to make your team better and the cavs bent over backwards to surround him with other players, mj wanted better players he got them lbj wanted better players he got them the difference mj stuck with his team in good times and bad thats the real heart of a champion, something ledick doesnt have now or never will. please dont make excuses for that pathetic little child lebrick

  14. Timer - Jul 13, 2010 at 5:54 PM

    Charles Barkley made a good point, it would have been nice if Lebron had spoken with the owner before going public but he didn’t. You have to also think about the people that were behind this, the media, ESPN and others, they are ones to blame for this, not Lebron. Lebron is living the life and enjoying the moment, this doesn’t happen often, to any athlete. The owner of the Cavs and the media pumped Lebron up bigger than life and now everyone wants to go against him because he made a decision to leave the Cavs. People can you stop putting all of your faith, hopes and dreams in a human, and put it in GOD because humans make mistakes and sometimes make decisions that you might not agree with. Lebron was not the savior for Cleveland, he just brought you cheers and hoorays and made people want to watch basketball more.
    As Charles says,”THE REAL HEROS ARE NOT THE ATHLETES”!

  15. basketball diva - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:09 PM

    I love Sir Charles and although I don’t agree with everything he says, this time he was spot on! Lebron is consumed with his own importance (which is nonexistant) and forgot he plays a game that is entertainment. It’s not rocket science. It’s not brain surgery. It’s a game. What he did was his right, but there was a much better way to do it without hurting so many people that had been his fans and supporters so long.

  16. dre dre - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:09 PM

    I truly think that after seven years in cleveland lebon had every right to choose the team he wanted to go to. The way that it was done however was very unprofessional especially if he had already made a decision. instead of donating proceeds from his moment on ESPN, he has enough money to just give the money and save the drama!! I feel sorry for the cleveland cavalier fans and I personally think they would’ve respected Lebron more if his actions were done more professionally. To those that are talking about barkley’s weight and gambling problem you’re no better than Lebron because you are downing and classifying someone. By the way, Thanks Kobe for your loyalty to all of us LAKER fans!!!

  17. Lemonverbeena - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    How does stating facts make me a big baby? Grow up.

  18. Megan - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    I’m not really much of a fan of basketball, but this whole Lebron mess has caught my attention. What I find very sad is the focus put on this one individual, as though he is the only member of the team that exists. I wonder what that does for the morale of the rest of the team. They likely work as hard, play as hard, and suffer a loss as hard as LJ does, yet they seem to be perceived as nothing more than ghosts in the machine. What I would love to see is the Cavaliers discard the idea of acquiring big name talent and instead bring in players with HEART and an old fashioned sense of TEAMWORK. Play it for the love of the game, rather than celebrity, notoriety, and a multimillion dollar paycheck. That is the type of team I could become a dedicated fan of!
    If the Cavaliers can assemble such a team (which they can- those players are out there just waiting to be called), I believe they would be in an excellent position to win the championship. The right way. From the heart.

  19. BOB - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:25 PM

    Charles seems to have made sense of the LJ fiasco, why can’t he make sense of his golf swing??

  20. Sarah - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    For me, and I believe many others dre dre, it’s not about him leaving for a better team. It’s the way he chose to leave.
    I personally have no problem with the fact that he left. I think the way he left however was crass, tactless and egotistical!

  21. Diego Morales - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    Allstart – way off the mark there, my good man. Not only is it an invalid argument to compare it to turning down a promotion, I think the big problem people have is HOW he left, not THAT he left. Nobody in the history of free agency in sports has ever hosted a one hour, self-serving TV special to announce his decision on where he would be playing next season. In my opinion, he did irreversible damage to his star quality and marketing appeal. Fantastic athlete, great player (usually), but not an out-and-out winner like MJ.

  22. Bobby Townsend - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:32 PM

    Left out clerks who process the mail and carriers who deliver it. Without them, the check was never really in the mail was it!!!

  23. Lemonverbeena - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:33 PM

    In a perfect world Megan, you’re absolutely right, but when you have NBA players that would throw their own mothers under the bus to buy a championship, you will only find heart and love of the game in college basketball. Trust me, Cavs fans love all the players, my favorite is Zydrunas Ilgauskas! The only reason why egomaniac is in the news is because of his arrogance. LBJ will fade, as they all do.

  24. Joe310 - Jul 13, 2010 at 6:52 PM

    LeBron had every right to change his team, but the narcissistic way he handled this whole thing was disgusting. He should’ve had the decency to call the Cavs organization himself and tell them and he should not have played this charade of meeting with other teams, when clearly his decision was made years ago. Great players stick around and make their teams better; at least during their prime. I have lost respect for LeBron and will laugh at anyone that compares him to MJ.
    LeBron = LeHype, LeQuit, LeGone, LeLie, LeDeception, LeI’m the king’, LeWade’s Sidekick, LeNoclass, LeNoClutch, LeBaby, LeKobeWannabe…

  25. NRESQ - Jul 13, 2010 at 7:18 PM

    You KNOW the world is F*ck’d up if Barley is the one making the most sense! End of the day, LeBron was free to go where he wished, to make an ass of himself doing it, and may live to regret his decision in the end!

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