The night before his return to the air, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley spoke with colleague Ernie Johnson in an interview posted on NBA.com.
Barkley expressed regret over the December drunk driving arrest that resulted in his temporary banishment from TNT. Barkley apologized to his family, the NBA, TNT and T-Mobile, saying that he “embarrassed all of the above.” Barkley: “For me, the worst part of this situation is I can’t believe I let TNT, T-Mobile and the NBA down. I embarrassed the NBA in this situation. Realistically, that’s the thing that disappointed me the most. I can’t believe I let those three organizations down.”
Barkley repeatedly described the DUI as unacceptable, and says he plans to use his on-air platform to “challenge all individuals … to really think hard before getting behind the wheel of a car when you’ve been drinking.”
The effect of his absence from TNT truly hit Barkley during All-Star Weekend. In his words, All-Star Weekend “was the first time that I really realized that I screwed over TNT. If you miss me one day a week, it’s frustrating. But to miss me four days in a row, that was when it hit the worst that I had let TNT down.”
