Charles Barkley not rocking with life-time ban for Jontay Porter over gambling scandal

Charles Barkley suggests young players make mistakes and should not throw away a key to their lives.

Charles Barkley not rocking with life-time ban for Jontay Porter over gambling scandal

Charles Barkley feels that the NBA should not have given Jontay Porter a lifetime ban for gambling

Jontay Porter can never play in the NBA. Well, at least that is what the league meant when they handed him a lifetime ban. However, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley feels it was too strict. He feels the NBA should have given him the option of getting a second chance.

While on SiriusXM NBA Radio as a guest, Charles Barkley weighed on the lifetime ban.

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I understand why they did, and rightfully so. But I wish they had it say five years, something like that to give him another chance. But he's such a young kid. We all did stuff when we were young.
Charles Barkley said

Barkley added that he was taking cues from legendary college football coach Nick Saban, who always gave players a second chance. He alluded to the fact that Saban knew the mistakes they made were due to their youth.

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Based on this, the former league MVP suggested that a 5-year ban would have been more appropriate. After all, Jontay Porter is only 24 years old. At an age where Barkley feels even, he has made mistakes. A 5-year ban means that Porter will have the time to learn and fix his ways before trying to play basketball again.

A lifetime ban means Porter will have to look for other means of earning a living. The ban from the NBA does not mean that Michael Porter Jr.‘s younger brother cannot approach leagues such as the Big 3 or international teams. However, having to leave the best basketball league in the world for a few betting wins was not worth it.

Charles Barkley feels Zion Williamson let down his team

While on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Charles Barkley also talked about Zion Williamson‘s injury with Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo. 

He's lost 25 pounds during the season. You can't use the season to get into shape.
Charles Barkley said

Barkley suggested that the former Duke standout should have gotten into shape before the season started. It puts less pressure on the body.

Had he stayed fit, there was a high chance that the New Orleans Pelicans could beat the Sacramento Kings in the play-in game. Barkley also thinks a Pelicans team with a healthy Zion Williamson would have been a problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

However, the injury effectively ends Williamson’s first post-season. As the team suggested he is probably out for at least a few weeks.

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