In a case of flip-flopping that would make Mitt Romney blush, the guy who once famously declared that he was "not a role model" is now angry with Johnny Manziel for not being a role model.
Or that's the impression you'd get, anyway, if you listened to Charles Barkley talk about the controversial Texas A&M quarterback on Waddle and Silvy on ESPN 1000 in Chicago earlier this week.
"Johnny Manziel, he's doing something I never thought was possible," Barkley, a former star at Auburn, told the show's hosts. "He's going to make me root for Alabama this weekend.
"I thought I would never say those words. I am so close to saying 'Roll Tide.' Johnny Manziel is annoying me so much. I'm really close to saying 'Roll Tide.'"
So what is it that has Barkley so annoyed?
"I think Johnny Manziel has just done a lot of stupid stuff in the last three or four months," Barkley said. "I do understand how that works for most people, but not in the case of Johnny Manziel, Johnny Manziel has just done a bunch of stupid stuff this entire summer."
Does he mean stupid like breaking a guy's nose in a 2:30 a.m. fight in a parking lot?
Or stupid like throwing a guy through a bar window because he threw some ice?
Or maybe the stupid he's talking about is stupid like getting popped for DUI while looking for a hooker?
To be fair, Barkley has always been accountable for his actions, and, as noted above, he's never claimed to be an exemplar of good judgment. But that's what makes it so strange for him to take the moral high road with regard to Manziel.
If anything, I would expect Barkley to embrace Johnny Football -- this week, if no other -- in part because Manziel has the type of rollicking, pompous personality that has always made Barkley so popular. The guys are kindred spirits.
Sure, Manziel's act can be irritating, and his decision-making is questionable at best. But so, too, is Barkley's, and that, alone, has Chuck looking like a massive hypocrite when he turns his back on his alma mater and throws Manziel under the bus.
Now, for some links:
- Mack Brown responded to a Texas A&M player's tweet.
- Dick Butkus on the state of Illinois football: " I get kind of embarrassed with the way they've played.
- Aaron Rodgers and Mason Crosby went to a middle school football game in support of Rodgers' neighbor.
- Jose Fernandez didn't make any friends on the Atlanta Braves when he slow-trotted after his first career home run:
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- Last month, a cable guy alleged that Ndamukong Suh threatened him with a pellet gun , though Suh was later cleared.
- Bobby Valentine ripped the New York Yankees for their alleged lack of involvement in the days after 9/11.
- What happened to the Pirates fan who ran onto the field in Texas after Pittsburgh clinched its first winning season in two decades?
- Stop telling DeAndre Jordan how to live his life:
- Tyler Zeller put on 20 pounds this offseason -- and he has Krispy Kreme to thank for it.
- The Detroit Lions ran gassers Wednesday as penance for personal fouls .
- Like LeBron, Carmelo Anthony isn't discussing his pending free agency .
- FTW dug up this clip of Rockies infielder Ryan Wheeler performing an incredible beatboxing routine:
- Vanilla Ice will perform at halftime of Sunday's Houston Texans game.
- Should the NHL go to 3-on-3 in overtime ?
- A possibly drunk fan was arrested for trying to grab the Tampa Bay Rays mascot by the neck -- twice.
- Guy does BMX tricks on an NYC Citi-Bike:
- Jim Irsay and Pat McAfee keep Indy lively .
- Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman skipped the team photo .
- Miss Kansas is bringing a new look to the Miss America pageant -- tattoos.
- An absolutely devastating block from a Pennsylvania high school football game:
- Joe Mauer's concussion symptoms have returned .
- The Chiefs and Cowboys share a tragic bond .
- Joseph Randle becomes the latest former Oklahoma State star to defend Mike Gundy .
- A 2005 Toyota commercial featuring Phil Jackson seems to have predicted the ending of Game 6 of this year's Finals:
- The TCU mascot missed the team plane and now has to find another way to get to Lubbock.
- The Texans gave Ed Reed a funny 35th birthday present .
- Did Steve Spurrier get a newspaper columnist banned from covering South Carolina football?
- Cam Newton won't be " throwing a Bar Mitzvah " to celebrate being a black starting quarterback in the NFL.
- Katherine Webb sat by the cast of Duck Dynasty at a New York Fashion Week show:
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