One of the biggest days in Charles Barkley's life started in a Milwaukee courtroom where a jury acquitted him of two misdemeanor charges for punching a Milwaukee man last year.
Less than five hours later, the outspoken six-time All-Star was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Phoenix Suns."It's been a great eight years in Philadelphia and now I play for Phoenix," Barkley said from a Milwaukee airport Wednesday after his flight home was delayed by bad weather.
"Whatever happens I will deal with it."
That was pretty much Barkley's attitude during his brief three-day trial that ended after the nine-woman, three-man jury deliberated just more than an hour and a half before reaching a verdict.
"I said from the beginning that I didn't feel I did anything wrong," said Barkley, who'd been charged with battery and disorderly conduct for his role in the incident last December outside a Milwaukee tavern.
"I'm happy it's over with. Obviously, it's been very stressful for me."
Juror Janece Sudhoff of Milwaukee said the prosecution simply failed to prove its case.
"There was still some doubt as to what happened and they didn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.
Barkley thanked the jury and Judge John Franke, who said he agreed with the verdict. Franke also suggested that the case should not have been brought to trial.
"While I think there are legitimate questions about whether Mr. Barkley's conduct was appropriate, whether it was proper and whether it was the best thing to do under the circumstances, those questions were about conduct and were beyond the reach of criminal law," Franke said.
Barkley, who punched and broke the nose of James R. McCarthy of Milwaukee, said he had no intention of pleading guilty to a lesser charge and just paying a fine.
"I wouldn't have come to court if I hadn't felt like I had a chance to win," Barkley said. "I would not say the words `I plead guilty' just to avoid coming to court. I'm not going to do that because I did nothing wrong."
Barkley, who did not testify, claimed he punched McCarthy in self-defense. Barkley said McCarthy taunted him and a female friend as they were walking up the street after leaving the bar. He also said McCarthy came at him with clenched fists.
"I've been in the NBA for eight years and this is the only time I can remember having a bar fight, even though this wasn't a bar fight," Barkley said.
"If I was just a regular guy, it wouldn't have come to this point. Anytime you're in the limelight, people are going to be jealous and want to start trouble. If he hadn't walked toward me, nothing would have happened."
Barkley had faced up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine on the battery charge and up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on the disorderly conduct charge.
Defense attorney Thomas Halloran said the trial's turning point came when McCarthy was called as the first witness. He questioned McCarthy's credibility and challenged his testimony, saying it was made to help his case against Barkley in a civil suit.
Assistant district attorney Michael Steinhafel said during his closing arguments that Barkley acted violently, not in self-defense, when he landed the punch.
"There's no evidence to believe that his only way out was to punch," Steinhafel said. "He went too far. He crossed the line."
After the verdicts, Steinhafel defended his decision to charge Barkley.
He said Barkley was charged with disorderly conduct because after delivering the punch, he took off his shoes, shirt and jacket and assumed a karate pose. Barkley later picked up a parking sign and hoisted it above his head before two bar bouncers intervened.
"If he hadn't been charged the media would have said, `You cut him a deal.' In that situation you can't win," Steinhafel said. "Our position was that we'll take it to a jury. If a jury wants to say that's the deal, then that's the deal."
Barkley was sent to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.