PHILADELPHIA -- Charles Barkley Thursday said he will try to stop the presses on his autobiography because he claims his co-author distorted comments by the Philadelphia 76ers' forward.
Barkley said he called his agent asking him to prevent the book's release after excerpts appeared Thursday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Excerpts from 'Outrageous,' co-written with Roy Johnson, in the Inquirer included comments from Barkley calling club owner Harold Katz cheap, and degrading teammates Armon Gilliam and Charles Shackleford and former coach Matt Guokas.
Barkley said he was surprised by the passages in the newspaper, and said he only read the first three chapters of the book.
'That was my responsibility (to look at the manuscript) but I will deal with that with Roy (Johnson),' Barkley said. 'I haven't read the book. I've only read a few quotes out of the book, and I felt those three quotes were inaccurate. Roy said what he felt.'
The book quotes Barkley as saying Gilliam is not a consistent scorer or rebounder. But Barkley claims he never uttered those words.
'No I didn't say that,' Barkley said. 'It doesn't matter what it (the quote in the book) says. First of all this is from last year, this is not from this year, I have no problem with his game this year.
'The two concerns I had last year, I didn't think he was a consistent rebounder or a defensive player.'
The book also quotes Barkley saying the trade for Gilliam last season was 'stupid' and Katz 'knows about as much basketball as any fan who sits around watching games all the time -- not much.'
However, Barkley said, 'No, no, no that's not true, that is not true. I said I wish we had somebody, a GM in there. I don't know if Gene's (76ers General Manager Gene Shue) made any trades, but I wish that he would let the GM make more of the trades.'
Barkley also said his comment in the book saying he is 'too cheap' to buy a team plane like the Detroit Pistons have was said in jest.
'That was a joke, that was a joke,' Barkley said. 'The question was said in jest and I don't think Harold's going to get upset.'
Barkley also claimed his comments in the book criticizing Shackleford were misleading.
'The thing about Shackleford, that was wrong too,' Barkley said. 'First of all, this was about six months ago. He Johnson) said what do you think about Shack, I said I don't know. I said I'm interested in seeing why New Jersey would cut a guy like that.'
According to the book, Barkley declares 'there'll never be another player like me again ... another player who is 6-foot-4 and averages more than 10 rebounds a game, scores inside whenever he wants to against bigger opponents, and is quicker than most everybody he plays against. I'm the ninth wonder of the world.'
Other revelations from the book:
-- Barkley also criticizes 76ers guard Hersey Hawkins for not being aggressive and calls 7-foot-7 center Manute Bol one-diminesional.
-- Boston forward Kevin McHale is called the best player Barkley ever played against and Barkley calls Bill Laimbeer a friend. Two years ago Barkley and the Detroit center got into a fistfight during a game.
-- Barkley said he smoked marijuana when he was younger, took $20,000 from agents while playing at Auburn and tested negative for AIDS this fall.
-- Barkley brands Philadelphia 'one of the most racist cities I've ever seen.' He says his wife Maureen,who is white, was in a bar in Philadelphia in April when a man spit in her face and called her a 'nigger lover.'
-- Barkley acknowledges he made a major mistake during a game at New Jersey last season when he attempted to spit at a heckling fan and instead hit a young girl. The prologue to the book is an apology to 8- year-old Lauren Rose, whom Barkley called the 'unintended victim of my stupidity.'
