Barkley arrested on DUI suspicion

[OnTheRiver]

I assume his first call was to Dwyane Wade.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving early Wednesday morning.
An officer with a law enforcement task force that targets drunken driving saw the former NBA star run a stop sign around 1:30 a.m., said Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler.
Barkley declined to submit to a breath test but was given a blood test. The results weren’t immediately available.
After Barkley was processed, he was cited and released. He left in a cab, Shuhandler said.
Shuhandler said there was nothing remarkable about Barkley’s arrest and that it is customary to release people after they’ve been arrested on suspicion of DUI.
“There was nothing unusual about how he was taken into custody,” Shuhandler said. “He was treated exactly like we treat anybody else.”
Barkley was arrested in Scottsdale’s Old Town area, one of the trendiest spots in the Phoenix metro area.
Barkley played 16 NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets, and played on the USA Olympic “Dream Team” in 1992 and 1996. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star and league MVP in 1993.

 

[slappy4428]

Thas turrible

 

[PeteyPirate]

Hehe, "suspicion."

 

[93Devil]

He does not have a paid driver?

It still blows me away that these guys don't give someone $100,000K a year to take care of them when they party.

 

[heyabbott]

He bet Fitty large on the blood test.

 

[JackReacher]

Thas turrible

Very nice.

 

[TigerVols]

He does not have a paid driver?

It still blows me away that these guys don't give someone $100,000K a year to take care of them when they party.

Excuse me for repeating a story I've told earlier:

I was once covering a jock-filled poker tourney at the Mirage when Barkley took up space at a high-roller 21 table, just killing time between events. He had a huge stack of $1,000 chips with him, 2 in the afternoon.

Joeblow comes up to him and says something along the lines of "I'm an Auburn grad and a huge fan, what an honor to meet you..." Barkley turns to the guy, asks a coupla polite questions, then asks the guy to sit in with him...dude looks at the stakes ($100 a round) and says, "um, can't afford it!"

So Barkley then grabs a huge handful of his chips and gives them to the guy. No questions asked, no strings attached, and says, "now you do." Had to be at least $30K if it was a dollar.

Saw it with my own eyes; from that point on I've always been a fan.

But maybe next time he should take that handful and give to a cabbie, no?

 

[Beef03]

Wow. am I the only one getting tired of these stories about said athlete or former athlete getting pulled over for a DUI or suspected DUI? It's not like the robbed a bank or hell even hit a tree. Sure they are encredibly stupid for doing so and I carry no respect for those that do drink and drive, but my god, it's not like it is rare. I wonder what the drunk driving rates will be for tonight? and who's to say he was plastered. He could have had three drinks, and the cop who pulled him over for running the red light -- happens all the time to sober people -- could have just smelled it on his breath. The fact the cop was part of a task for he was probably looking for it to begin with. Being in a trendy part of town he was likley just leaving an establishment. Sure he could pay someone $100,000 a year to drive him around, but if Joe Blow can afford a night on the town he should also be able to afford the $10-20 for a cab at the end of the night. rant over.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Watch good ol' Charles get another walk on this from his pals in our biz.
If this were Allen Iverson, the outrage already would be at high tide.

 

[Goldeaston]

Well, Beef, considering at any time one of these guys could in fact hit a tree, or perhaps pull a Leonard Little, I'd say it's newsworthy. Considering Barkley is talking about running for office, I'd say it's even more so.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

Watch good ol' Charles get another walk on this from his pals in our biz.
If this were Allen Iverson, the outrage already would be at high tide.

True dat.

 

[Big Chee]

The funniest thing about this is how his opinion on current athletes and their troubles will be sought after by the end of the week.

 

[Beef03]

Well, Beef, considering at any time one of these guys could in fact hit a tree, or perhaps pull a Leonard Little, I'd say it's newsworthy. Considering Barkley is talking about running for office, I'd say it's even more so.

I'm at the point where if he hits the tree or pulls a Leonard Little then it's newsworthy. Until then it's much ado about nothing. Hell they didn't even see fit to keep him in the drunk tank to sober up overnight. And it's not just him, it's every third rate back up point guard who the vast majority of the public wouldn't have heard of gets written up in a story. If you or I get pulled over on suspicion of DUI the only people who find out about it likely are those you tell. I'm just tired of it is all, I guess.

 

[PeteyPirate]

Well, Beef, considering at any time one of these guys could in fact hit a tree, or perhaps pull a Leonard Little, I'd say it's newsworthy. Considering Barkley is talking about running for office, I'd say it's even more so.

I'm at the point where if he hits the tree or pulls a Leonard Little then it's newsworthy. Until then it's much ado about nothing. Hell they didn't even see fit to keep him in the drunk tank to sober up overnight. And it's not just him, it's every third rate back up point guard who the vast majority of the public wouldn't have heard of gets written up in a story. If you or I get pulled over on suspicion of DUI the only people who find out about it likely are those you tell. I'm just tired of it is all, I guess.

Do you work at a newspaper? Back when I did, any employee who got a DUI got a writeup with a head shot.

 

[JC]

Well, Beef, considering at any time one of these guys could in fact hit a tree, or perhaps pull a Leonard Little, I'd say it's newsworthy. Considering Barkley is talking about running for office, I'd say it's even more so.

I'm at the point where if he hits the tree or pulls a Leonard Little then it's newsworthy. Until then it's much ado about nothing. Hell they didn't even see fit to keep him in the drunk tank to sober up overnight. And it's not just him, it's every third rate back up point guard who the vast majority of the public wouldn't have heard of gets written up in a story. If you or I get pulled over on suspicion of DUI the only people who find out about it likely are those you tell. I'm just tired of it is all, I guess.

Nobody gives a **** about you or I, you can't say the same about pro athletes. It's public record, of course it's going to be reported.

 

[lone star scribe]

He does not have a paid driver?

It still blows me away that these guys don't give someone $100,000K a year to take care of them when they party.

Hell, I'd take that gig. Beats what I'm doing now in this biz.

 

[broadway joe]

If the story said "Charles Barkley stupidly risked killing himself or someone else last night," wouldn't it be worth reporting? That's what DUI is. It's a serious offense, even if it isn't that uncommon, and when someone who's at all well-known does it, it's particularly newsworthy.

 

[Big Chee]

If the story said "Charles Barkley stupidly risked killing himself or someone else last night," wouldn't it be worth reporting? That's what DUI is. It's a serious offense, even if it isn't that uncommon, and when someone who's at all well-known does it, it's particularly newsworthy.

You're wrong.

The careless misuse of someone sneaking a gun, hidden in the waistband of their pants, into a packed club is MUCH more dangerous than being drunk behind the wheel of a 3,000 pound vehicle.

 

[Goldeaston]

Blue font missing?

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

It looks like he just jumped in a pool.