When celebrities get involved in elections they are giving away a commodity that they have - fame, to the campaign. At this point I feel that whatever speaking or appearance fees that a celebrity generally gets should be taken as the value of what they give to a particular campaign when they stump for someone. If that value is greater than the allowed individual donation amount, it should be considered a campaign finance law violation.
I hate to say this about Barkley, but in terms of celebrity status....at best, he’s a ‘4’ on a scale of one to ten.
If you follow basketball...you might know of him. Beyond that, I’d say that about 60-percent of Alabamians absolutely know nothing of the guy. Maybe 20-percent will say he’s a sports figure but suggest that it’s major league baseball or NFL action. Beyond that, I doubt if you can find more than 3-percent of the adults in the state who value his opinion on something beyond basketball.