Charles Barkley has interesting take on Jontay Porter's NBA lifetime ban

It's hard to argue against the NBA's decision to ban Jontay Porter for compromising the best interest of his former team, the Raptors, and the NBA as a whole with gambling infractions. However, a small contingent of people believe the NBA was too harsh by slapping a lifetime ban on the 24-year-old forward.

Charles Barkley, for one, feels Porter should have been slapped with a five-year ban instead.

"I understand why they did it, and rightfully so, but I wish they said, 'Okay, five years.' Something like that to give him another chance," Barkley told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "I'm talking on behalf of both sides. I understand why they did it, but he's such a young kid."

Barkley then paraphrased a quote from a legendary college football coach. 

"Nick Saban says, 'People give me a hard time when kids screw up and give them a second chance.' He says, 'What am I supposed to do with them? Am I supposed to throw them out to trash?' I really admire him because we all did dumb stuff when we were young."

While Barkley's empathy for Porter is admirable, most have supported the NBA for coming down hard on the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. 

According to the NBA's statement, the league found at least 13 instances of Porter using an associate's online account to bet on games. His bets totaled $54,000 but resulted in a net gain of approximately $22,000. The most egregious bet occurred on March 20 when a known NBA bettor placed an $80,000 parlay wager to win $1.1 million for a game, predicting Porter would underperform. Later that evening, Porter played three minutes and left the game with an illness. The unusual activity caused the online sportsbook to freeze without paying out the bet, causing the NBA to begin its investigation.