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Alabama welcomes Auburn grad Charles Barkley to speak to team
By Cody McClure
Published:
Alabama brought in Auburn basketball great Charles Barkley to speak to its football team on Tuesday at the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility, according to a report from 247 Sports.
The former NBA MVP and current Inside the NBA analyst for TNT spoke to the team prior to a Tuesday night practice. Barkley did not make it to the practice.
Nick Saban and Barkley have a bit of a history.
“As a black man, I really respect when you give other black men an opportunity after they’ve screwed up,” Barkley told Saban in an AL.com interview last year. “Because I always tell people, ‘Everybody is an idiot when they’re 18. Young kids are going to make mistakes.’ But as a black man, I just want to say thank you for giving these young black guys an opportunity.
“I know you have taken some heat, and I thought it was unfair because we don’t need to just throw kids away when they do something stupid.”
Apparently, Alabama also has welcomed Marcus Spears, Ryan Leaf and Jay Williams, among others, to speak to the football team during fall camp.
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
