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NBA commentator Charles Barkley has made no secret of the fact that he loves to gamble, losing $1 million on at least one occasion. He appears on an NBA picks show and in FanDuel commercials. So when Barkley said this week that he believes there is way too much sports gambling, the reaction via Twitter was swift and not flattering towards the former NBA star.
Jamie Berger tweeted:
"Charles Barkley is a degen gambler who shills for gambling sites on TV. Nearly everything he's on is sponsored by gambling. He BUILT this, helps people ruin their lives daily. WTF Chuck?"
JMC writes:
"Serial gambler says there’s too much gambling."
Here is what Barkley said specifically:
“There’s too much of it,” Barkley said during a media event this week at the American Century celebrity golf tournament. “We’ve got people in the stands betting on who’s going make the next free throws. Think about that. If I was a scumbag, I’d look at a guy in the stands, a friend, and say, ‘Yo, I’m going to miss both of these free throws.’ Now, that’s cheating.
“I had an NBA owner say in the next three to five years … they’re going to be making triple what they do on television revenue [from sports betting]. And when you get to that point, I think it’s really scary. I mean, c’mon man, if you’re able to bet on if a guy’s going to make two free throws in the middle of a basketball game, that’s obsessive.
“Listen, gambling’s always been part of sports,” he continued. “That’s why the NFL is King Kong, but I am concerned that you can sit in the stands and make bets now in the middle of a basketball game. But, like I said, the toothpaste is out of the tube, and I don’t know how to put it back in.”
Yes there is an irony, but Brobible points out something even worse.
Barkley is also the same guy who admitted betting $100,000 on himself to finish in the top 70 last year at this very same golf tournament (which isn’t even allowed, so it was refunded to him). He finished 76th. Take that for what it’s worth.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
