Charles Barkley called with some news.
Barkley wanted to share his intention to donate $1 million each to ALS research in Alabama in the name of former Auburn teammate Gary Godfrey, who was diagnosed with the disease in January 2019; and two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Bethune-Cookman and Jackson State.
Barkley recognizes his blessings and wishes to share it.
“I’m just so lucky and blessed beyond anything I can imagine,” Barkley said in the Thursday conversation. In October, the NBA Hall of Famer and TNT commentator signed a staggering new 10-year contract with the network worth of? “Rumor mill has it at two hundred million,” he said with a laugh. “I can neither confirm nor deny. Man, I’m just lucky. I’ll leave it at that.”
A 6-7 forward, Godfrey played three seasons for Auburn, sharing the court with Barkley in 1981-82, before missing two seasons and playing in 1984-85 and 1985-86. Barkley left for the National Basketball Association after playing three seasons.
In April, Godfrey participated in Bo Bikes Bama, an annual event created by Bo Jackson, another Auburn icon, to raise money for the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund, which provides disaster relief and support. A prior two-time participant, Godfrey traversed the 20-mile course in an adaptive bicycle constructed by students at Auburn’s Ginn College of Engineering and powered by a family friend and cyclist Chuck Smith.
“Gary is a good man,” Barkley said. “He’s been battling. He’s on his last legs, but he’s battling.”
The men’s basketball team at Bethune-Cookman, located in Daytona Beach, Florida, is coached by former NBA player Reggie Theus, who played 14 seasons in the league, including seven that coincided with Barkley. “He’s my NBA brother,” Barkley said.
It was well known Barkley lobbied for former Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders to replace Brian Harsin at Auburn. Last Saturday, Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, announced he was leaving JSU after three seasons to become the head coach at the University of Colorado, a Power 5 program.
Barkley chose to donate to JSU “because of what Deion means to me as a friend,” he said. “They’re probably gonna take a little hit with him leaving, so I want to show them some love because, man, what he accomplished there was pretty extraordinary.”
Barkley said he’d not yet informed any of the recipients of the donation, though adding he would call Godfrey as soon as he got off the telephone.
Today’s announcement isn’t the first Barkley has made in recent years.
In 2016, Barkley pledged $1 million each to Alabama A&M in Huntsville and Clark Atlanta University. In 2017, he pledged $1 million to Morehouse College in Atlanta. In 2020, he pledged $1 million each to Miles College in Birmingham and Tuskegee University.
Last summer, the 1981 Leeds High School graduate, gifted $1,000 to each Leeds City Schools employee. He also arranged for students to receive 200 computers and free Internet service for a year.
In July 2022, he pledged $1 million to Spelman College in Atlanta.
The donations of Bethune Cookman and Jackson State are the seventh and eighth significant donations he has made to historically Black universities.
“I’m [expletive] sixty [years old] in a couple of months, which is crazy,” Barkley said. “All this [expletive] money is crazy. I’m gonna use the rest of my life to bless as many people as I possibly can.”
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