11-time NBA All Star Charles Barkley’s season and career seemed to end too soon when he tore his left quadriceps muscle on December 8, 1999, in Philadelphia, where his career started. Barkley, born in Alabama, beat opponents who were bigger and faster, winning him many medals and awards throughout his career. 

Recently, in a YouTube show on CNN, Charles Barkley narrated a story, in which he lost money because of his friend’s heavy drug addiction.

He said, “Honestly I feel sadness. You know, lemme give you an example, we got home, one night and my money was missing. I went to my friend in Alabama and my money was missing. It was about 1 or 2 in the morning.”

Barkley further continued and mentioned if you have an addiction then nothing matters. His brother also stole stuff, but Barkley believed it happened because his little brother was under the influence. 

It’s clear that he doesn’t mind losing money though—in fact, he thinks that losing money at gambling isn’t as bad as going crazy on drugs or alcohol. In 2007, he said:

“It’s not a problem. If you’re a dr*g addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don’t think it’s a problem. Do I think it’s a bad habit? Yes, I think it’s a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I’m going to continue to do it.”

The first time Barkley bet on sports was when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980s. He quickly gained a reputation for not caring about money and gambling all the time.

He has said a lot of things that people don’t like, such as spending too much is fine if you possess sufficient money.

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Barkley’s transparency about his struggles

Many top players may be more addicted to gambling than we think. Barkley and Jordan are great examples of the personal and business problems that can happen when people gamble too much.

Barkley’s story is different, though, because he is being honest about his gambling issues. Because he is transparent, he brings attention to the problem and serves as an example for other professional players who may be having problems with gambling addiction.

Eventually, these frequent betting habits turned into an addiction. He wasn’t able to make it big, though, and his losses kept adding up. In the end, Barkley gambled away almost all of his NBA wealth.

Barkley had said that he has lost an unbelievable $20 million in gambling throughout his life.

Read More: Charles Barkley’s Troubling Past Takes Hilarious Turn as NBA on TNT Crew Bully Him on Live TV