Charles Barkley sticks up for NBA Commissioner David Stern
NBA Commissioner David Stern found an unusual ally recently when NBA legend and current TV analyst Charles Barkley stoop up for him in an interview on Tuesday, 11 October. Barkley lavished praise on the embattled Commissioner and
even labelled him as the best at his job.
Charles has been one of the most outspoken and controversial players in the history of the NBA, and with David Stern representing authority, it doesn’t really seem like a match made in heaven. Yet, Barkley has been known to call
it like he sees it, and he has definitely seen some good in the stance Stern has taken during the NBA lockout.
"I think David Stern is the best commissioner in sports," Barkley said, according to ESPN. The colourful commentator went on to explain that he had followed the lockout situation closely and analysed the rhetoric coming out of
both camps. "I listen to both of these sides very carefully when they say stuff. I don't listen to the BS. You can fool the fans, you can fool the media, but you can't fool someone who's really paying attention.”
The praising act from Barkley is coming despite if the fact that the NBA lockout, which Stern enforced, has already wiped out training camps, preseason and 100 games of the regular NBA season. The labour dispute at the root of
the problem revolves around the split of money and structure of the NBA’s financial system.
Although Barkley holds the view that the fight over money is harming the game, he admitted that the underlying cause, Stern was fighting for was a just one.
David Stern and the owners have stated that the league lost $300 million last season, with 22 of the 30 teams in red zone. What Stern wants to do is take money from the players and give to the owners to offset those losses. What
he also wants to do is to create a system, where all the franchises would be on a level playing field.
In Barkley’s eyes, Stern is standing up for the smaller market sides that consistently fail to compete with those with more resources.
"If you notice, he mentioned every small-market team. The NBA owners are going to protect these small-market teams. They don't like the fact all the stars want to play in big cities.”
Barkley quoted the example of the Baseball, where the league is under a stranglehold of the richer franchises because of a lack of salary cap and similar measures.
“And this whole thing is going to be about: We're not going to be like baseball.”
He certainly has a point.
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