“Talk About the Lakers and the Damn Cowboys All the Time”: Charles Barkley Brings Up Aspect of ESPN Move He’s Not Looking Forward to

With over twenty years of reporting experience under his belt, Charles Barkley understands the sports media landscape. He also shares his perspective on the reporting strategies of various networks involved in the broadcasting business, including the one that will air ‘Inside the NBA’ from next season. During a crossover between ESPN and TNT before the NBA Cup Semifinals, Barkley shared some a critique he had of the Disney-owned network.

Barkley began his tirade by complimenting Bob Myers for reigning in Stephen A. Smith and asking him to avoid talking about the Los Angeles Lakers. “Bob, I love what you said last segment. When we come work for y’all next year, are we obligated to talk about the Lakers and the damn Cowboys all the time, like Stephen A. does?” Barkley said.

Myers quipped that the New York Knicks were on that list of big market essentials too. But Chuck didn’t have as much of an issue with covering their season. “The Knicks got a good team. We have to talk about the Cowboys and the sorry a** Lakers all the time,” the 1993 NBA MVP added.

Much like he did in his playing days, Barkley as a reporter doesn’t harbor any biases towards the biggest markets in the league. In fact, he seems saturated with the coverage on their mediocre seasons. However, Chuck’s frustration was balanced out by Stephen A.’s pragmatic approach.

“First of all, right now, they’re both sorry a**es, so let’s get that out of the way,” Smith said about the Lakers and the Cowboys. “Secondly, here’s the deal. You have to pay attention to the American people. If the American people say that’s what they want to hear, that’s a message I hear.”

Barkley was not having any of it. As a man with his finger on the pulse, he called Smith out immediately. “The American people are saying ‘Stop forcing it down my throat!’” the 11-time All-Star joked.

Sir Charles had previously said he would never work for ESPN

Despite finding tremendous success in broadcasting, the 61-year-old had remained open to the possibility of walking away from the public eye in recent years. Since becoming a grandfather, Barkley’s feelings about work have changed and the only reason he re-signed with TNT was because of the culture and the environment they had cultivated.

However, when Turner Sports’ NBA future was still up in the air, Chuck made it abundantly clear that he would much rather retire than work for a corporate brand like ESPN. “They’re not gonna work me like a dog,” Barkley said in May. “ESPN Radio, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes. I mean H-LL NO! As much as I love ESPN, I just turned 61. The notion that I’m going to be working like a dog into my mid-60s, that’s definitely not going to happen.”

His comments found their way to the watchful eye of Malika Andrews, who made sure to bring them up during the segment ‘Who Said That?’ Barkley couldn’t help but laugh as Smith joked, “Chuck, who’s the person that said they would never wanna work for ESPN?”

"Who Said That?" with the @nbaontnt crew was absolute comedy 🤣 pic.twitter.com/v4j1Qs4vYE

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 15, 2024

The light-hearted banter between the sporting networks bodes well for their future collaborations. Thankfully for Barkley, the current deal between TNT and ESPN allows the Inside Guys to continue producing their show with Turner Sports. ESPN only holds the license to broadcast their program and the only change we can expect is more banter between the two networks’ analysts.