Charles Barkley was an analyst on the Golf Channel for many years, which is why he has a lot of opinions about professional golfers. He recently joined Phil Mickelson’s new company LIV because his name will help them sell lots of merchandise and get more sponsorships from companies that want to associate themselves with him. This move could have serious consequences for both parties – here are some thoughts from one expert in the field:
Phil Mickelson has just joined the LIV Golf team, but Charles Barkley doesn’t seem too impressed. He says that he’s not sure what Phil is doing, because it sounds like he’s trying to “beat Tiger Woods.”.
Charles Barkley made the infamous claim that professional players weren’t accountable for serving as role models throughout his NBA career. Even though the former forward made those remarks more over 20 years ago, it seems that he hasn’t grown beyond them. At least, that’s how it seemed when he was talking about Phil Mickelson.
Chuck was recently interviewed on the Golf Channel, and during the interview, the golfer was questioned about his gambling proclivities and recent judgment. This question was likely meant to be a veiled reference to Lefty’s decision to join LIV Golf. In the process of defending his buddy, Barkley also discussed the necessity for a temporary pause in public relations.
That attitude was reasonable given his personal connections to Mickelson. Chuck’s response, however, badly missed the point even if neither Barkley nor Lefty need to serve as role models in this situation.
Regarding Phil Mickelson joining LIV Golf, Charles Barkley
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=VkDq 6xlZhY
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Charles Barkley is well renowned for his basketball career, but he also enjoys playing golf. That being the case, it wasn’t unexpected to see him on the Golf Channel before to the U.S. Open.
Before talking about Phil Mickelson’s gambling tendencies and bad judgment, the forward received a few uninteresting questions throughout the interview. Sir Charles said that he had talked to the golfer about an hour earlier to commend him on how he handled the news conference on Monday.
Following a lengthy digression into gambling, Barkley addressed LIV Golf, the topic at hand.
The former NBA great said, “The thing that concerns me the most, I believe some of the criticism is, oh, it’s really become personal. “Man, some of these personal insults, I believe you may disagree with his playing, but… Because, let’s face it, Phil Mickelson has had a greater impact on golf in the last 25 to 30 years than any other player, save Tiger Woods. Tiger is like Michael Jordan in that he is a supernova, but other players, like me and Karl Malone, have had to contribute to the game. We also aided the game, Patrick Ewing. However, Phil comes after Tiger. Other than Tiger Woods, he has supported the PGA Tour for the last 30 years. And I detest that some of the criticism is focused at him. And part of it is from self-harm. A portion of it is wholly self-inflicted.
Then Barkley spoke more directly to LIV Golf.
We all have to live our own lives and make our own choices, therefore I detest seeing these personal assaults. And when you’ve got these two golfing things, they’ve got to figure out—be let’s honest—how to operate together. “Since they will eventually need to collaborate because I’m not sure how long this LIV thing will go. The traditional adage that any form of exposure is beneficial is not applicable to the hostility surrounding golf at the moment, man. That’s not good at all. We agree to disagree is one of my favorite sayings because I don’t want Dustin [Johnson] or these other people to disparage Phil. Because it would be bad for the game as a whole, I don’t want them to do that.
Charles Barkley’s focus on athletics detracted from his argument.
During “The Match,” Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley may be seen on the left and right, respectively.
Barkley’s reasoning makes logical when seen just from a sporting standpoint. Things will become nasty if there is internal strife inside the sport. Golf fans who are solely interested in seeing their favorite players compete for the championship on Sunday are likely indifferent with the whole LIV Golf drama.
Barkley, though, is disregarding the bigger picture by concentrating on the golf alone. Mickelson and the others are not the target of some elaborate plot. Where their LIV money comes from is the most important factor. The following passage from a recent article by Matt Slater for The Athletic explains everything:
LIV Golf is supported by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund that it uses to diversify its economy and improve its reputation abroad with its enormous resources derived from fossil fuels. The strategy plan Vision 2030, which was unveiled in 2016 by the nation’s crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, has these objectives. The chairman of PIF is MBS, as he is more well known.
However, MBS is most well-known outside of his country for ordering Jamal Khashoggi’s abduction, murder, and dismemberment by a death squad in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Khashoggi, a Saudi novelist and writer who worked for the Washington Post, was a well-known dissident at the time of his murder. MBS has always denied any participation, but the Turkish government and international intelligence services have the opposite view.
This helps to understand why Saudi Arabia’s reputation should be improved. Along with this, Saudi Arabia lacks democracy, labor unions, and a free press. It also oppresses women and members of the LGBTQI community and interferes in Yemen’s protracted civil war. Finally, it kills an alarming number of individuals each year, a majority of whom are Shiite Muslims.
Writing for The Athletic, Matt Slater
That fact does unavoidably bring genuine criticism to bear on Mickelson, Johnson, and the other well-known pros who have joined LIV Golf. Reports may cast doubt on their judgment, and the PGA Tour may exclude them for collaborating with a rival. Those aren’t insults against my character. They represent the price of a business choice.
To return to Barkley and his remarks, the former NBA player is utterly missing the point there. Nobody should be exempt from criticism. He likened the greats in basketball to Woods and Mickelson. In the past, Sir Charles hasn’t had an issue criticizing Michael Jordan. Why should Lefty get a free pass because of his position?
In keeping with the basketball theme, one might also make a comparison between joining LIV Golf for money and (theoretical) status and Barkley’s opposition to NBA superteams. It’s intriguing to watch how the latter gets his pass, even though they’re obviously not exact analogs. Sir Charles, did you suggest that when Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors, he should just live his own life and make his own decisions?
Similar to that, using the argument that doing something is beneficial for golf is a strawman seems ridiculous, particularly for someone like Barkley. Historically, particularly throughout his playing career, he hasn’t been a big fan of social standards. One would argue that throwing objects into the audience, shoving spectators, or more lately, making jokes about ladies from San Antonio, do not present the NBA in the best possible light. But Barkley doesn’t even blink in such circumstances.
Charles Barkley generally doesn’t hold back and is a straight shooter. In this instance, he decided to securely lay up by taking the all-purpose wedge out of his bag.
Unfortunately, he still ended up in rough.
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