What Does Beatdown Really Mean?

By the time you read this blog post, former NBA star Charles Barkley will have completed serving a three-day sentence on a drunken driving charge.

Maricopa County sheriff’s Deputy Lindsey Smith says Barkley reported to Tent City on Saturday morning.

The 45-year-old basketball great pleaded guilty last month to two misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from his December 31 arrest shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub and failing a field sobriety test.

Barkley said last month that he made a mistake and just has “to take the beatdown.”

While I appreciate Mr. Barkley’s admitting his mistake and pleading guilty—if he did make a mistake and was guilty. That’s commendable. However, what’s the “beatdown” that you are talking about? Were you afraid of getting “beaten down” in prison? Were you afraid of the “beatdown” you were going to get in the media? From your family? Friends? What’s the beatdown you had in mind, Mr. Barkley?

From what I understand, the former NBA star has just re-signed a TV deal to be a basketball analysis. Doesn’t sound like a beatdown to me. I still see where you are traveling and playing golf across the country. Again, no beatdown there. I can only assume you are still gambling with sums of money that I’ll never make in my entire lifetime. Okay, I’ll give you this one—you may get beatdown here, seeing how much money you’ve actually lost over the last year or so at the tables or with cards or even pitching pennies in a back alley, whatever your source of “fun” is.

But, come on Mr. Barkley. There’s no beatdown here. Serve your time. Then, get back to your golf and gambling. But, please, don’t come back to Alabama to run for governor as you are always threatening to do, I mean, promising to do. I’m afraid that even your credentials from Auburn University won’t stop you from truly getting that beatdown that you mention here. The people of Alabama won’t be voting for you. Not in 2010 or 2014 or any time after that.