Charles Barkley gets lightly slapped on the hand for drinking and driving

I will say upfront I really enjoy Charles Barkley as a sports commentator, however I think he may have just gotten some very partial treatment as a celebrity.  The round mound of rebound – Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving last December 31st in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The former NBA star and returning TNT announcer was spotted running a stop sign around 1:30 a.m. in Scottsdale’s Old Town area, one of the trendiest spots in the Phoenix metro area, by an officer with a law enforcement task force that targets drunken driving.

Barkley wasn’t inclined to submit to a breath test but was forced to take a blood test. Barkley, 45, had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona when he was pulled over. According to TMZ, the reason Barkley passed a stop sign was because he was in a rush to get a blow job. There was allegedly a gun cops  found in Barkley’s car on the night of the arrest but apparently no charges were ever filed.

For all that Barkley just pleaded guilty to 2 counts of driving under the influence and pleaded “responsible” to running a stop sign, according to TMZ.

His punishment 10 days in jail — but will only do five if he completes an alcohol education program. Barkley was also fined $2,000. Barkley will begin his sentence on March 21 — but it’s unlikely given the kids glove treatment, if he will serve time in Arizona’s famed Tent City Jail, where they make the inmates wear pink.  Despite his political ambitions, I don’t care much what Charles does with his personal life but drunk driving gets people killed.  If they don’t think it’s appropriate for Charles to serve time, for gosh sake give him enough community service time to make it a real punishment and at the same time use his celebrity for some good.