Charles Barkley’s run-in with the law has landed him in foul territory.
The outspoken NBA analyst was sentenced to 10 days in jail Monday after pleading guilty to driving under the influence for his Dec. 31 arrest in Scottsdale, Ariz.
He’ll only have to spend five days behind bars, however, if he completes an alcohol-education program. A $2,000 fine was also levied at him for the incident. He’s due to start serving his sentence by March 21.
Barkley was arrested at about 1:30 a.m. after running a stop sign. He refused to take a breath test at the scene, but was apparently more than happy to inform his arresting officers that he’d been in such a hurry because he was on his way to get oral sex.
After a two-month, network-imposed hiatus, the brash former baller was back at his post on TNT’s Inside the NBA Thursday, where he apologized—bluntly, as always—for his behavior.
“Clearly everybody knows I got a DUI,” Barkley said. “That’s unacceptable, 100 percent my fault…I screwed up, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, I apologize.”
“First of all, every person who’s drunk thinks it’s OK to drive…but, seriously, if you have a drink, seriously think about it. If I’ve had a glass of wine or a beer, that’s different. But if I had something to drink, I’ll seriously think and not get behind the wheel.”
He also thanked TNT, for the most part, for its patience.
“As far as the bigwigs at TNT, I never trusted them 110 percent,” Barkley said. “I’ve been here eight years and we don’t spend a lot of time together…but I want to tell them it meant a great deal for them to stick by me through my screw-up.”
He had not been sentenced yet, but when asked by cohost Ernie Johnson about the possiblity of getting counseling, Barkley said he felt it would be good for him.
“I need to make sure drinking is not a problem for me. I just want some professionals to talk to me about it.”
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