Charles Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers supporters had a bittersweet relationship. Time and again, they locked horns and both parties refused to back down. One of the last straws of this strained relationship rose from an incident in 1991, days after Magic Johnson announced his sudden retirement to the world – a move forced by his HIV diagnosis. The NBA World tried to wrap its heads around these developments while many focused on honoring the legend. Charles Barkley was one of those who honored Johnson with a move that left fans irked. Despite the negative buzz around his gesture, Barkley was unfazed and dedicated his efforts to winning the hearts of everyday people, including this struggling family. 

Charles Barkley won over a family with a kind gesture

A while ago, a fan shared a post about Barkley on the social media platform Reddit. The fan posted a picture of Barkley with his family and paired it with a caption that read, “Charles Barkley drove over to my grandmom’s house in 1991 to visit with my dying uncle.” 

The 76ers fan explained that his mother wrote a letter to Barkley and explained their situation while requesting an autograph. However, Barkley took it up a notch and drove down to meet the family. The fan claimed that the NBA legend spent the entire day with them. He wrote, “It has meant so much to my family for my whole life. Barkley is a legend to me.”

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This post received 1.8k comments and was upvoted by 62.9k people. The comments section was filled with fans sharing their stories with Barkley and other pro athletes. Another fan shared that he once bumped into Barkley at Disneyland.

Read More: “Scapegoat for These Players Acting Like Idiots and Fools”: Charles Barkley Takes Scathing Shots at Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant’s Nets

He wrote that Barkley fooled around with him while refusing to sign an autograph free of cost. The fan said, “When I went to walk away really sad he stopped me to let me know that he was joking and signed something everyone in my family had.” Further, the fan added that this incident made Barkley ‘a light in my life’ for pro athletes. 

The last straw with Philadelphia 76ers fans

To honor his dear friend, Barkley decided to change his jersey number to 32 as Johnson’s jersey number was 32. However, for 76ers fans, number 32 was precious. It was the number Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham flaunted during the 17 seasons he played in Philly.

The fact that the organization had retired Cunningham’s jersey added to the significance. Hence fans seethed with anger after Barkley debuted his updated jersey in a game against the Boston Celtics. Fans rushed to radio shows and protested the 15-time All-Star gesture.

Watch This Story – 5 times Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had heated fights on Inside The NBA

With this heat around him, Barkley was stunned that something he “thought was good could be turned into something bad.” While talking to the media, he said, “You really think I give a flying f**k about what the people on the radio call and say?”