Barkley Discusses DUI Arrest Ahead Of Tonight's TNT Return

Barkley Says He Embarrassed NBA, TNT, T-Mobile

With his return from a leave of absence following a DUI arrest scheduled for tonight, TNT's Charles Barkley said getting a DUI was "unacceptable in any way, shape or form." In an interview with TNT's Ernie Johnson posted on NBA.com, Barkley said, "I owe an apology to my family, to TNT, to T-Mobile and to my NBA family. I embarrassed all of the above." Barkley said he does not believe his arrest "will go to trial," but he said, "I may be looking at potentially some jail time but don't know anything yet." Barkley added he "will have to go to alcohol counseling." Barkley said any person who is "in the limelight has to be extraordinarily careful in public." Barkley: "With video cameras, camera phones and the Internet, it's become 'gotcha' journalism." Meanwhile, Barkley said during his leave of absence from TNT he spent his days "just thinking about" what happened. Barkley: "I never realized how many people that I affected. I'm not just saying that because I let you and Kenny (Smith) down and everyone that works on the show. I let TNT down, I let T-Mobile down. ... I embarrassed the NBA in this situation. Realistically, that's the thing that disappointed me the most. I can't believe I let those three organizations down" (NBA.com, 2/18).

CONTROLLING THE MESSAGE: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand notes rather than do interviews, Barkley spoke with Johnson, whom he "wanted to 'personally thank' in his opening, and the NBA reviewed it before releasing it" on its Web site. Hiestand writes that means "you don't know what else Barkley was asked -- and didn't answer -- or what else he said that wasn't included" (USA TODAY, 2/19).