Former NBA legend Charles Barkley is certainly a very opinionated man, and when he has an opinion, he isn’t afraid to let it fly.
The man who once famously said “I am not a role model” joined “The Kittle Cast” with NFL tight end George Kittle and his wife, Claire, and was giving out some rather sage advice about aging athletically.
For guys like Kittle and Barkley, going from the top of your game to retirement can be rough; it can feel like there’s a hole in your life where your passion used to be.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates his touchdown in the second half an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019.
That’s why Sir Charles felt it paramount to impart his wisdom onto the younger Kittle now so he knows what to expect when he does decide to hang it up.
For Chuck, there is a list of dos and don’ts when it comes to staying in shape post-retirement, and while sharing this with the podcast power couple, he decided to take a shot at a very popular sport among retirees.
“There’s not a lot you can do when you get old,” Barkley said. “You can’t go play basketball.
“And let me tell you something. They got this stupid thing going around called pickleball, which is the way old people out here are getting hurt all the time.”
So, the Round Mound of Rebound is not a big pickleball fan? Got it.
But he continues.
“My doctor friends said pickleball is the gift that keeps giving,” Barkley claims. “Because all these old people are killing themselves and hurt all the time. My doctor friends are in heaven right now.”
Former Phoenix Suns player Charles Barkley attends an NBA Cup game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Kittle chimes in and says he’s heard similar things about America’s fastest-growing sport among the 55-and-over community, citing torn ACLs and broken wrists galore.
“I am never stepping on that damn court,” Kittle exclaimed.
I have to say, as someone who was conscripted into the pickleball cult back in 2023 and having “left the reservation,” I couldn’t agree more.
I was 30 years old thinking this was going to be some relaxing way to spend my weekends as a recently married guy trying to find a hobby, and I could not have been more wrong.
The word “cutthroat” is an understatement.
I was going up against guys (and girls) who were playing this sport as if it was the fifth set of the Australian Open Finals, and the funniest part of all of it was that most of these people were my age or slightly younger.
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Where are all these senior citizens I hear about playing a relaxing round of pickleball?
Because all I got was a court full of former college athletes in their early 30s with $200 paddles and rocking headbands like they were Bjorn Borg.
If you’re still in good enough shape to treat pickleball like an ATP tennis match, then just go play tennis.
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Otherwise, you come off like a try-hard.
A pickleball match leads to an argument where a paddle was used as a weapon, leaving a man bleeding from the face. (Getty)
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What’s even crazier is the few retirement-aged players I ran into would kick my ass up and down the court, so maybe this is a sport that’s tailor-made for older people.
I’m with Kittle, if you really want to do something active after you retire, just play golf like every other generation of old people has done since the sport was invented nearly 600 years ago.
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Of course, there’s a reason Chuck didn’t suggest that as a post-retirement pastime, but I digress.