Charles Barkley offers harsh take on Rudy Gobert’s behavior
May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former NBA player and current TNT television personality Charles Barkley prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA recently fined Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert a whopping $100,000 for taunting a referee with the money symbol but Charles Barkley doesn’t think that was enough.
During Friday night’s Inside the NBA broadcast, Barkley said the league should have cracked down harder and suspended Gobert. His reasoning? It’s all about the integrity of the game.
“I thought he should have been suspended. … The one thing we can never do in sports is make people think it’s fixed.”
Chuck and the fellas discuss Rudy Gobert being fined $100K for directing a 'money sign' gesture toward a game official pic.twitter.com/GsP50GcP8n
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“The one thing we can never do in sports, ever, is make people think (the game) is . . . fixed,” Barkley said. “If we ever get to the point, any sport, if they found out, it would ruin the sport. It would ruin the sport if people thought it was fixed. They fined Luka Dončić, they had fined Rudy Gobert before, I thought they should have suspended him.”
Shaquille O’Neal shot back and told Barkley he was taking it too far, but Chuck doubled down.
Although a Gobert suspension may have been a bit over-the-top, there’s no denying the NBA has a credibility issue. They remain scarred by Tim Donaghy, who got caught up in a game-betting scandal in 2007 and made several alarming accusations in the 2022 Netflix documentary Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul. The fact that the league has since embraced gambling doesn’t help their overall image.
Gobert’s gesture merely called attention to what many fans already believe. It was damaging and it did warrant a fine, and Barkley’s concerns are valid. Still, a suspension would have been excessive.