"I grabbed Larry" - Charles Barkley jokingly wants $5,000 fine returned after revealing real intentions of his role in Larry Bird-Dr. J bust-up
During his rookie season, Charles Barkley was involved in NBA legends Julius Erving and Larry Bird's infamous 1984 brawl. Barkley seemingly assisted Erving as he pummeled Bird, later getting fined. However, according to the Hall of Famer, his role in the fight was misunderstood, and he shouldn't have been penalized.
The incident occurred during a regular-season matchup between Erving's Philadelphia 76ers and Bird's Boston Celtics on Nov. 9, 1984. After a series of trash talk, Erving's frustrations boiled over in the third quarter. He took a shot at Bird, resulting in a multi-player skirmish.
During the scuffle, Barkley, a then-Sixers rookie, held Bird back as Erving threw punches at him. Erving and Bird were subsequently ejected, with $30,500 in fines later doled out to those involved.
Erving and Bird reportedly received $7,500 fines, with Barkley getting hit with a $1,000 fine.
However, Barkley recounted things differently during a recent "Club Shay Shay" podcast appearance. Barkley told ESPN's Shannon Sharpe that he was unjustly fined $5,000, as he was trying to stop the fight. The former MVP also quipped that he still wants a refund from the NBA.
"First of all, I hate the NBA for that reason. They owe me $5,000. I'm still p**sed to this day," Barkley said. "One thing I would never do is hold a guy for another guy to hit him. And I've been mad — I'm still mad to this day. Y'all owe me $5,000, Adam Silver."
According to Barkley, the quarrel was sparked by Bird repeatedly taking shots at Erving's age (34). He noted that he grabbed Bird to stop him from hitting Erving back, not knowing that nobody was holding his teammate back.
"So, Larry Bird was a great trash talker, and he's like, 'Charles, y'all better get this old man off me.' I'm telling ya, and he's just roasting Doc. ... and it goes on up and down ... and Doc had just had enough," Barkley said.
"They come together, and I just kind of grabbed Larry, I'm not even looking at Doc. When I went back and looked at the tape, Doc was nailing his a**. I was just trying to pull guys apart."
Charles Barkley's true motives in the altercation are debatable. However, 40 years later, it appears unlikely the 61-year-old will get his fine refunded.
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Charles Barkley on why he didn't stop Julius Erving from fighting Larry Bird
Charles Barkley later touched on why he held back Larry Bird, rather than his teammate Julius Erving, during their 1984 altercation. The 11-time All-Star noted that it was his only choice, as if he held down Erving while Bird beat him up, Sixers fans would have hated him.
"If I grabbed Doc and Larry was trying to pummel him, I can't go back to Philly," Barkley said.
Thus, it appears that, given the circumstances, Barkley may have made the best possible judgment, despite getting fined postgame.
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