"Who give a f**k about Barkley" - Charles Oakley calls Charles Barkley a 'clown' following latter's announcement on his broadcasting future
Aside from his impressive NBA career, Charles Barkley has been a prominent broadcaster who offers substantial basketball commentary coupled with some humor in between. Weeks after he announced his plan to retire from the profession next year, former Knicks forward Charles Oakley had some strong comments for the 1993 MVP.
The Suns legend made a lasting imprint when he became a studio analyst for TNT alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. However, Barkley isn't one to mince words on live television, which has certainly rubbed some people off the wrong way.
Oakley made his comments in an interview with sportswriter Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
"Who gives a f**k about Barkley? He needs to go to the gym and worry about his health," Oakley said. "But his mouth is going to get him in trouble. But I mean, he's a clown, point blank. He look for attention. The stuff he said now, he would never say back in the day about no player or somebody would've hit him in his f**king fat mouth."
Oakley pointed out Charles Barkley's attitude of sharing his opinion strongly, which he might not have the confidence to do back when he was still playing in the NBA.
Charles Oakley gives context in his beef with Charles Barkley
Oakley's comments do not come from any random disdain for the former Sixers star. During an NBA Players Association meeting, the former Bulls forward had an incident with Charles Barkley. In 2022, he spoke about it in an interview with GQ.
"He was just talking and being in the press like he does on TNT now," Oakley said. "He said something about the Knicks, and I took it to heart. Even though we ain't win nothing, you ain't going to talk about the team that I rep and I'm around. ... Barkley just kept talking and I told him, next time I see him, on point, I’m coming right up to him, and I got something for him."
Being a proud former player of the New York Knicks, pride became a factor in the altercation as Oakley was not having any trash talk directed towards his team. It was a personal subject matter for him that resulted in a beef between the two that still stands strong to this day.
A similar altercation occurred in a 1993 regular season game between the Suns and the Knicks. At that time, Charles Barkley committed the act after Oakley wrapped his arms around him to stop any chances of converting a shot. Some words were exchanged, which led to emotion getting intensified.