Charles Barkley has bullied and dunked his way to the NBA Finals, All-Star Games and the Olympics. But to folks in his hometown of Leeds, Ala., he's still a kid named Wade.
"That's what we called him growing up," said former Leeds High basketball teammate Bernard Lockhart. "He may go by his first name now instead of his middle name, but he's still the same person."Saturday was "Charles Barkley Day" in Leeds, a town of about 10,000. One of the many signs that greeted him read, "Welcome Home Wade."
At a ceremony, Barkley said kids shouldn't look to professional athletes for role models, a message he made clear on recent TV commercials.
"Athletes should be secondary role models," he said. "It all comes down to parents. Parents have got to do a better job."