Barkley Offers Friend-ly Advice

by Dick Jerardi, Daily News Sports Writer
Posted: July 16, 1998

Charles Barkley began by calling Allen Iverson a ``brat.'' Then, he warmed up.

Barkley, appearing last night on Comcast SportsNet with Michael Barkann, pulled very few punches. And landed more than a few.

Barkley doesn't approve of Iverson's choice of friends. Thinks the Sixers' point guard needs to lose them, especially after two of them, driving in Iverson's $138,000 Mercedes-Benz, were arrested last Friday following an alleged drug deal in Virginia.

``His responsibility is to his family and the team,'' Barkley said. ``Then, he could pick his friends differently. I would hope my friends would never put me in that situation. What's bad about being famous is that you never heard the names of the two guys who got arrested. You've only heard Allen Iverson's. His friends put him in that situation, which shows me they have a lack of respect for him.''

Iverson, Barkley figures, is not without blame.

``He gets all this bad press, he loses his car [it has been impounded] and, technically, he didn't do anything wrong,'' Barkley said. ``But he did. He shouldn't hang out with people who are going to put you in situations.''

Barkley had high school friends who did all the bad stuff. All these years later, nothing has changed.

``They're still doing the same thing, getting drunk, getting high, just doing crazy stuff,'' Barkley said. ``I can't do that stuff.''

Barkley is not a posse fan, either.

``I don't like the posse mentality,'' Barkley said. ``All it is is a bunch of friends who don't want to work and want to mooch off you.''

Later, Barkley said: ``[Iverson's] got more talent probably than any player in the league - if he would focus that energy, instead of trying to be from the street.''

Charles Barkley, outrageous still, has real wisdom - for those able to get by his less-than-pristine past and some of his more outlandish comments. He tells what he perceives to be the truth. And a message is there somewhere for Allen Iverson.

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