STATELINE, Nevada — Charles Barkley is done trying to convince the public he is a good golfer.
He knows he won’t win the celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe this summer, but he is pretty sure he won’t finish last.
Barkley spoke to the media this week during a press conference for the American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Tournament, July 6-10 at Edgewood Tahoe.
Barkley is listed at 7,500-1 odds to win, but the odds for him to finish in the top 70, in the 90-person tournament, are not quite as long. Caesars Sportsbook has the former NBA star and current TV analyst listed at 5-1 to finish in the top 70.
Barkley said he bet $100,000 on himself to finish in the top 70 last year in the ACC, before finding out people are not allowed to bet on themselves. His bet was refunded.
He has a workaround this year. He’ll have a friend make the bet for him.
“Like, halfway through the second day, when they realized, like, this dude might come in the top 70, they came with that bogus rule about you can’t bet on yourself,” Barkley said. “It doesn’t make sense. I bet on me to win. I didn’t bet that I was going to come out of the top 70. I bet I was going to come in the top 70.
“Hey, gambling is gambling. I don’t want to hear all the BS about betting on yourself and stuff.”
Barkley also weighed in on the NBA Finals and several more topics on Wednesday, before the Celtics beat the Warriors, 116-100 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Barkley said when he played, the fans in Oakland, the Warriors’ previous home before moving across the Bay to San Francisco, were among the best in the league.
“That’s one of the most fond places I’ve ever played a basketball game, when the Warriors were in Oakland. These San Francisco fans are annoying, to be honest with you. But they’re great fans,” he said.
“But let me tell you something. What has happened to that city is a travesty and disgrace. I know TNT is cheap and they put us in the cheapest hotels in the history of civilization. But all the homelessness and crime you’ve got going down in San Francisco, man, that cannot happen. They’ve need to clean that up.”
Barkley said he has bodyguards when he is out walking around cities.
“They’re walking around with their head on a swivel. And I always tell them, ‘Hey, shoot ’em. I’ll get you out of jail. If anybody come near us we don’t like, just shoot them, I’ll get you out of jail,’” he said.