Football and boxing involve a lot of physical contact to the head. A risky sucker punch or a rough tackle can cause significant damage to the areas shielding the brain. Therefore, the National Football League has attracted various controversies because it can cause concussions that can last up to years. According to a 2019 journal article in NIH, an NFL player, who lodges 24 games, is at risk of premature death. Therefore, when given a chance, unsurprisingly, Charles Barkley turned away from becoming an NFL pro. He chose the safer route of becoming an NBA pro which comes with its risks, but is nowhere near a high-risk NFL career.
On the ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast, Chuck sat down with Shannon Sharpe and discussed why he never pursued an NFL career. He expressed that as a junior in high school, he was 5’10″, weighed 220 lbs, and was trying his luck in different sports. Sharpe, who was 8x Pro Bowl with the Denver Broncos, noted that these physical specifications make for a “running back” in the NFL.
Before narrating why he quit football just after a practice, the 1993 NBA MVP acknowledged that it takes a “real man” to pursue two of his most favorite sports,
“Football is my favorite sport, then boxing. I think it takes a real man to play football and box because those are the only sports that you can really get hurt.”
Then the 1987 NBA rebounding champ narrated how he learned his lesson just after a day of a football scrimmage. A bruised and beaten Chuck was lamenting about agreeing to the football practice.
“I played the one day and I just ran into a guy full speed for two hours, this is the stupidest sh** ever! I was sitting in the locker room, I was bloody and beaten up, I had my head down and the coach says,”I’ll se y’all tomorrow”. I said, ‘wait, we doing this tomorrow! I am not doing this sh** tomorrow under no circumstances,” he added.
Then Barkley alluded to his love for boxing. He stated that while in basketball one can take it easy on either end on multiple possessions, Boxing doesn’t offer the same luxury. Considering the physical altercations, even if the basketball athletes face several injuries in their career, sometime even career ending, football and boxing can deal a lot more damage. As a huge boxing head and a fan of the sport, he relishes this thrill. However, once he missed out on the thrill due to Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
When Charles Barkley missed a game due to binge drinking MJ and Magic
In a 2023 appearance on ‘All The Smoke’ pod, Barkley narrated how he once missed a Mike Tyson match because Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Magic Johnson asked him to get drinks. By the time he returned, Tyson had already won via knockout.
The fact that a young Barkley missed the early climax rubbed the funny bone of the veterans. He was left high and dry after missing the highly-anticipated battle which filled the space with laughter.
“I’m a young guy on the totem pole. They make me go get drinks and I come back and Tyson had already knocked his a** off. ‘Are you f**ing serious right now?’ These motherf**ers are laughing at me,” Barkley told Matt Barnes.
Thus, Barkley preferred being a fan of boxing and football, but avoided building a professional career in them. The Basketball Hall-of-Former also loves playing golf that eliminates any possibility of physical contact.
