Charlie King Retires from ABC After 32 Years

Stateline

Topic: Sport

It is Friday, 7 August 2026, at 6:49 am

Charlie King was happy when Anthony Joshua won gold at the Olympics

We warn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers that this story has the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died

Charlie King was the first Indigenous broadcaster to commentate on two Olympics in a row

Charlie was happy to say Anthony Joshua won a gold medal

Charlie had a memory of his childhood when he announced Anthony Joshua's win

Charlie's passion for sports started when he was young

Charlie King liked sports commentating when he was a kid

Charlie's dad would talk to the radio and Charlie loved it

Charlie thought about his dad when Anthony Joshua won gold

Charlie King retired from the ABC in May after 32 years

Charlie commentated on over 600 football matches and two Olympic Games

Charlie was a good football player and coach, especially for women's football

The women footballers didn't have much support, but Charlie helped them

Charlie started commentating by pretending to call games for his friends

Charlie works in a tough area to stop family violence

People know Charlie in the Northern Territory and stop him to chat

Charlie uses his profile to talk about hard issues like family violence

Working on family violence is hard because it's difficult to measure success

Charlie started the No More campaign to stop domestic violence

Charlie's work with the ABC helped him focus on his advocacy work

Charlie would use his ABC work to talk to people about family violence

Charlie wants sporting codes to be tougher on family violence

Charlie has won many awards for his work, including an Order of Australia medal

Charlie's work with the ABC's Bonner Committee has been very important

Charlie wants to show Aboriginal people that they can work at the ABC

The ABC still needs to hire more Aboriginal staff

Charlie's motto is to be better, not bitter

Charlie's mom was taken from her family, which gave him a sense of justice

Charlie felt racism when he was growing up, but his mom helped him

Charlie's mom helped him deal with racism

Charlie regrets not hearing his mom's full story before she died

Charlie is sad that he didn't get to talk to his mom about her childhood

Charlie's mom died before they could have a talk

Charlie was awarded an Order of Australia medal for his work

Charlie now faces the challenge of living with Parkinson's disease

Charlie was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2025

Charlie says Parkinson's has slowed him down, but not his desire to help

Charlie loves people and needs them, especially with Parkinson's

Charlie's partner and daughter are his biggest supporters

Charlie says patience is the most important thing for people with Parkinson's

Charlie explains how Parkinson's affects his conversations

Charlie needs people to be patient with him

Charlie is looking forward to spending more time with his family

Charlie says retirement will give him more time for advocacy work

Charlie is excited to watch his grandchildren play football

Charlie says Parkinson's is a slow disease, so he has time to do things

Charlie will spend more time with his family, including his daughter

Charlie's message to his followers is to live their best life

Charlie says every day counts, so do good things now

Charlie tells people not to wait until it's too late

Charlie has retired from the ABC and hung up his headphones

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