Throughout 75 years of history, the NBA has seen many legendary players doing incredible things on the court, while others decided to use their influence to fight for something bigger than them, and most of them used that clout they had to meet a lot of people and being included among celebrities.
This became a common thing after the league reached new heights during the 80s and 90s (although Wilt Chamberlain took advantage of his superstar status before), with more and more players getting into relationships with supermodels, singers, and actresses.
While some of these stories are very true, and the main characters never denied them, others were allegedly made up and hurt a lot of people at their peak. One of the most dramatic anecdotes regarding false rumors in the NBA included the beloved Charles Barkley and the so-called ‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna.
It was the year 1993, with Charles getting ready to play in his first and only NBA Finals, but rumors about him having an affair with Madonna started surfacing, which obviously didn’t sit well with the former NBA MVP (2:00):
“I think the whole Madonna thing has been a travesty to me, to my family, to my in-laws, it’s just crazy. I only met her one time in my life. That is it. And people said we were out dancing and stuff like that, which is totally untrue. I never denied meeting her and she seemed very nice and friendly, but to make us out to be a couple and to harass my family and call all my friends and call my in-laws, it’s crazy, it’s ridiculous,” Barkley is heard saying on a recent SQUADawkings video.
Things were so intense for Chuck and his family that even his mother-in-law suffered a heart attack after all the harassment from external people.
“She (his mother-in-law) has had a lot of stress from the jokes about me and Madonna (dating) and has been harassed with people (media) calling the house,” Barkley told The Chicago Tribune. “She’s not doing well right now and that’s a major concern. I only met her (Madonna) one time when she was in Phoenix. We don’t date. We don’t have a relationship.”
“They should leave my wife and daughter alone. When my wife goes out, they play Madonna songs, they’re calling my in-laws. This stuff is ridiculous, unbelievable. Nothing happened. I’m trying to concentrate on the Finals, but this is harassment of me and my family.”
It wasn’t an easy situation for the former power forward, who had to deny the rumors on national TV so his family wouldn’t be hurt anymore. In the end, Barkley continued with his marriage, and he’s happy with his wife after getting through these horrible rumors. Chuck has always expressed his love for his family, especially his wife, so it’s hard to think that he would do anything to hurt her.
