Charles Barkley donates $1 million to Jackson State University: "I'm gonna use the rest of my life to bless as many people as I possibly can"
Charles Barkley will donate $1 million to Jackson State University. Barkley, who will turn 60 in February, wants to give back as much as he can for the rest of his life. The Hall of Famer recently inked a lucrative extension with TNT.
In an interview with AL.com, Barkley revealed that he will be donating $1 million to JSU. The former MVP explained that he's lucky to have a lot of money, even joking about how much his new deal with TNT was really worth. He also just wants to give back to the community as much as possible.
"I'm just so lucky and blessed beyond anything I can imagine," Barkley said. "Rumor mill has it at $200 million. I can neither confirm nor deny. Man, I'm just lucky. I'll leave it at that."
Barkley added that turning 60 years old is already a blessing, so he wants to share it with as many people as he can:
"I'm (expletive) 60 in a couple of months, which is crazy. All this (expletive) money is crazy. I'm gonna use the rest of my life to bless as many people as I possibly can."
Charles Barkley's pledge came off the heels of Deion Sander’s announcement that he'll be leaving Jackson State University’s football program to join Colorado. Barkley further explained that he wanted to ease Sander's departure from JSU, while also giving back to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
"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."
JSU is not the first HBCU Barkley has donated money this year. He donated $1 million to Spelman College in Atlanta back in July. He made the decision to help Spelman College due to his friend and business partner, John Hudson.
"John has been a great mentor, a great friend, and a great business partner," Barkley said. "I was ready to do another HBCU, and with his daughter doing great things at Spelman, so I told him, 'Why not there?'"
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Charles Barkley will also donate $1 million each to ALS research and Bethune-Cookman University
Jackson State University was not the only institution to receive a $1 million donation from Charles Barkley. The "Inside the NBA" analyst also pledged to give the same amount to ALS research, and Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Barkley dedicated his donation to ALS research to former Auburn teammate Gary Godfrey, who has been battling the debilitating disease since January 2019.
"Gary is a good man," Barkley said. "He's been battling. He's on his last legs, but he's battling."
Meanwhile, Bethune-Cookman's basketball coach is former NBA player Reggie Theus. Barkley considers Theus his brother and was happy to donate $1 million to another HBCU.
Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman and Spelman College were not the first HBCUs to receive a donation from Barkley. In addition to the three institutions, Barkley has also donated to Alabama A&M, Clark Atlanta, Miles College, Morehouse College and Tuskegee University.
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