Charles Barkley Takes Leave Of Absence From TNT After Arrest

Barkley Had A Blood-Alcohol Level Of .149 On Night Of Arrest, Above Arizona's .08 Limit

TAKING A TIMEOUT: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Brian Powell wrote the leave of absence is "probably the best move for all parties involved." It is "obviously a tough decision for TNT whether to fire Barkley or not, but there are honestly only so many negative PR hits you can take." Even if those hits "come from a media darling like Charles, at some point they're going to add up" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 1/9). AOL SPORTS' Brett Pollakoff wrote, "You have to wonder if the details of Barkley's comments to the police, combined with the report that his blood alcohol level came back at a ridiculous .149 forced TNT's hand in (undoubtedly) making Charles take this leave" (FANHOUSE.com, 1/9). The EXAMINER's Paula Duffy wrote the leave "has got to be humiliating" for Barkley. No one is "spared his criticism and now he will get the same from others" (EXAMINER.com, 1/9). In San Jose, John Ryan writes the leave will last "just as long as it takes for the network to see how far its ratings drop without him." Barkley is "one of those Teflon people, Ferris Bueller in real life, the guy who says and does the outrageous and gets away with it because he's Charles and that's how it is." That is why TNT "won't cut Barkley, because he will be on ESPN three days later and will take every viewer with him" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/12).

GROWING PAINS: TNT NBA studio analyst Kenny Smith, in a special to YAHOO SPORTS, wrote, "Our show isn’t the same without Chuck because he’s a guy who adds the spice to life. But life also is about growth and, for Chuck, it’s time for growth. Some things in life can’t be avoided, but these incidents seem to follow Chuck. Could this have happened to any of us? Maybe. ... But Chuck is a magnet because of his fame, his size, his mouth and, unfortunately, at times, his lifestyle." Smith added, "My main man knows it’s time to reevaluate and retool and, more importantly, grow" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/10). In L.A., Diane Pucin wrote, "Without making moral judgments, TNT should want to see Barkley take steps more seriously than staying away from the microphone before letting him rejoin the broadcast. One suspects Barkley would demand the same from a player on a team" (L.A. TIMES, 1/10). In Birmingham, Kevin Scarbinsky wrote of Barkley's leave of absence, "Forced or not, that's a good first step. Now all he has to do is sober up and grow up. That won't happen until he's as honest about himself as he is about everyone else, until his keen eye for hypocrisy stops going all blurry when he looks in the mirror" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 1/11).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS: During the “Weekend Update” news segment on NBC’s “SNL” this weekend, cast member Kenan Thompson impersonated Barkley and discussed the situation. Cast member Seth Meyers said, “You’re facing a DUI and you’re also being forced to take a leave of absence from your work as a basketball commentator. Aren't you worried you’re going to lose your job?” Thompson: “Come on, man! I work for TNT. You know who else works for TNT? No one you’ve ever heard of. TNT stands for ‘Technically Not even Television.’ I'm all they got. So TNT, I will see you at work on Monday. I will be the drunk guy trying to park his car” (“SNL,” NBC, 1/10).

Print This Article