![]() ![]() "It was, like, one of the most random things," Barkley recalled with a laugh. I told my dad the conversation seemed pretty one-sided and handed the phone back.Īs I talked about the relationship with more and more people, I began to think that either my dad was one of the luckiest basketball fans ever - or this whole thing was an elaborate joke, a " Dinner For Schmucks"-type situation. Their texts were mostly messages from my dad that ended with an excessive number of exclamation points. But again, as a good millennial, I knew that people have very loose definitions of the word "friend."Ībout two years ago, I asked my dad if I could see their texts. He seemed pretty famous - and definitely not like anyone who would be friends with my dad. Like a good millennial, I Googled Charles Barkley. The first time my dad told the story, I didn’t pretend to know who this person was. Whenever we attended dinner parties, my dad would talk about his friend Charles Barkley. "Well, yeah, he's a top-50 player in the history of the NBA," he said. My dad told me that he knew about Barkley long before he met him. "You know, has a big personality," my dad, Lin Wang, told me last year, when I recorded him talking about Barkley. I said, 'That’s my boy, Lin.' They’re, like, 'How do you know him?' I said, 'It’s a long story.' " Everybody’s like, 'Who’s the Asian dude over there?' I just started laughing. "You know, it was obviously a very difficult time," Barkley told me recently. ![]() Charles Barkley and Lin Wang (Courtesy Shirley Wang) In short, he was everyone’s suburban dad. ![]() He worked as a cat litter scientist in Muscatine, Iowa. Here’s what I can tell you about him: He wore striped, red polo shirts tucked into khaki shorts and got really excited about two-for-one deals. He wasn’t a basketball player, he wasn’t a sports figure, and he wasn’t from Barkley’s hometown. But there was also an unexpected guest.īarkley’s friends couldn’t quite place him. When Charles Barkley's mother, Charcey Glenn, passed away in June 2015, Barkley's hometown of Leeds, Alabama, came to the funeral to pay respects. (Editor's note: Check out an update from reporter Shirley Wang.) You can watch a full video detailing the entire situation here.This story was re-broadcast on September 19, 2020 as part of The Best Of Only A Game. I’m trying to concentrate on the finals, but this is harassment of me and my family.” “They should leave my wife and daughter alone,” he added “When my wife goes out, they play Madonna songs, they’re calling my in-laws. “She’s not doing well right now and that’s a major concern.” “She has had a lot of stress from the jokes about me and Madonna and has been harassed with people calling the house,” Barkley commented at the time. People started calling her and harassing her, and it all became too much. Maureen’s mother and Barkley’s mother in law had a heart attack from the stress of the rumors. Barkley tried to stay above it all and ignore the reports, but after a certain point he couldn’t. Rumors started to fly that Barkley was dating pop icon Madonna, and that took a major toll on Maureen’s family.īarkley and Madonna’s stories began after Barkley moved away from Philadelphia to Phoenix. That was the first test their marriage faced, but it wouldn’t be the biggest. If you are Hispanic, you are going to be some type of gangbanger. “If you are some type of Muslim, you are going to be blowing stuff up. “If you are black on television, you are probably going to be some kind of thug, gangster or portrayed in a negative light,” he explained. Barkley spoke up about the stereotypes African Americans faced and how he absolutely hated it. Pennsylvania hadn’t truly come to terms with interracial couples at the time, and so an interracial marriage was far out of the picture. ![]()
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