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Charles Barkley Downplays Paul George’s Anxiety And Depression Remarks: “We’re Never In A Dark Place”

After Paul George ended his rough start in the first round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, he came out to reporters and revealed that he was in a ‘dark place’, dealing with anxiety and depression which affected his performance in the earlier games of the playoffs.

However, this was downplayed by NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley who previously criticized George for his ‘Playoff P’ nickname. Now appearing on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’, Barkley spoke out that the bubble environment where players earn millions of dollars and enjoy quality amenities isn’t a ‘dark place’.

“I’m not sure what that was about” Barkley said about George opening up about his anxiety and depression.

“I don’t think guys making millions of dollars to be worried just because they’re stuck in a place where they can go fishing and play golf, and play basketball to make millions of dollars; that’s not a dark place.”

Barkley now put things into his own perspective, saying that people who have lost their jobs amidst the coronavirus pandemic and people involved in the recent incident in Wisconsin are the ones who are in a ‘dark place’.

“The thing that just happened in Wisconsin, the thing that’s happening with this pandemic; all these people losing their job. Those people are in a dark place.” Barkley added, “We are the luckiest people in the world to dribble a stupid basketball to make millions of dollars. We’re never in a dark place.”

While Barkley often says stupid and ignorant stuff and has very controversial takes at times, this to me takes the cake. Discrediting a human being’s anxiety or depression due to the person being rich or privileged? That’s about the dumbest thing one can do. Physical health is not related to any kind of standing, wealth or privilege.