Sir Charles Provides Another Great Story

I know this story doesn’t directly involve Polk County, but since Charles Barkley comes to Lakeland every year to give his time and money to help the First Tee Program for Barkley, Bean, Bryant & Friends, it fits here. Plus, it is just a great story and another example of how Barkley is such a great person, always giving back despite the negative stories that always seem to surround him. The Philadelphia Enquirer has this story about how Barkley paid the college tuition of a waiter at a restaurant he was at. Not a bad tip.

During a visit to Saloon last summer, Charles Barkley asked Abate how he was enjoying teaching, and was disappointed to learn that Abate had still not returned to Temple because of problems securing financial aid. Abate, 28, of South Philly, started at Temple in 1997, months after graduating from St. John Neumann High. Sir Charles told Abate he would like to help him with his tuition, and Abate wasn’t sure how to respond. Barkley didn’t give him much time, telling Abate that he had the length of Barkley’s meal to decide. Abate wisely accepted.

“He’s a nice kid,” Barkley said of Abate on Friday. “He was working with kids, I loved that he wanted to be a teacher, and I wanted to help him,” Barkley told us by phone between stops on a flight to Reno where he was making a speech.

The story also notes how Barkley has given a total of $3 million over the years to schools he has attended: $1 million to his former high school, another $1 million to a high school in Birmingham and yet another $1 million to his alma mater, Auburn University.

People in Polk County can certainly attest to Sir Charles’ giving nature as he has pumped thousands of dollars into the YMCA Par 3 Program over the past three years of helping Lakeland native Andy Bean raise money for the program with his annual event.

Too often we only read about negative stories having to do with athletes, so whenever a great story like this comes along, it deserves a mention.