Barkley sounds off on players resting, says fans should boycott
Charles Barkley has a theory about the real reason why teams hold out their stars to rest, and offered a solution.
The former NBA star believes money is the driving factor for the rise of "DNP-rest," as players are making more money than ever before, so they take nights off in an effort to extend their careers and maximize their earning power. In doing so, though, they bite the hand that feeds them.
"I've been in the NBA for 30 years, and all of a sudden now, with better shoes, private jets, all this stuff they got, now all of a sudden they're worried about getting hurt," Barkley said Monday on the "Rich Eisen Show."
"I think it's the joke, especially when you're screwing your TV partners. Just for the record, we're the reason they make $10, 20, 30 million. TV. No disrespect to the fans, but the reason players make $10, 20, 30 million is because of the TV partners."
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The salary cap ballooned last summer to reflect the league's new TV deal worth $24 billion over nine years. Though he's generally outspoken, Barkley may be more heated about this particular topic because he's a TNT analyst and star shortages in marquee matchups diminish the product he and his employer put out. He contends that money's the root of the problem, and it can also be part of the solution.
"I think fans need to boycott games and boycott television to send these guys a message, because people always understand money," he said, specifying that fans shouldn't attend nor watch NBA games for a week.
The 54-year-old criticized the "idiots on television" who cite research in support of resting players, usually for half of a back-to-back set, as a means to keep them injury-free and fresh for the playoffs. Barkley said players, including himself, always needed rest, but didn't because it was their job to "dribble a basketball." He listed some examples of greats who excelled without taking games off.
"Bill Russell played in Converses," he said. "He had a long career. Tim Duncan, the greatest power forward ever, played 20 years basically, and he went to college for four years. You look at Michael (Jordan) who went to college for three years, he never got hurt."
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Barkley himself dominated over his 16-year Hall of Fame career, but only suited up for a full campaign in his rookie year. He missed time due to a variety of injuries, but at least he didn't sit out games if he was fit to play.
"I'm so old I flew coach and played back-to-back games. These guys are flying private, getting a great night's sleep, getting a great meal, and they're making $20-30 million and they can't play a couple of basketball games? This is ridiculous, man," he said.