RealGM

Charles Barkley tips well, pays busboy's tuition to Temple

Not sure how BDL missed this story yesterday — oh, that's right, we were busy setting the unofficial NBA marathon live chat record — but hey, better late than never.

Charles Barkley is giving his money away again. No, no, no, don't judge! This time, instead of feeding quarters into some slot machine or doubling-down on 14 at the blackjack table, Barkley's picked up the tuition for a busboy at a restaurant in Philly. From the Philadelphia Daily News:

"Sir Charles told [Christian] 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.

While the little-more-than-15% tip may seem particularly special, it's not so unusual for Sir Charles. In fact, the lovable goof has given at least $3 million to schools and education in his home state of Alabama. He's a giver, not a golfer.

As SportsByBrooks so eloquently put it, Barkley is just like Robin Hood: "He tries to take from the rich, but since he’s not very good at it, he gives to the poor out of his own pocket." So noble. Thump Bump, Chuck.

"Sir Charles told [Christian] 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.