The last few months for the award-winning sports talk show Inside The NBA haven’t gone to Charles Barkley’s liking. Since its inception in 1989, the show has been a product of TNT. However, at the start of the 2025-26 season, the show’s new home will be on ESPN. Barkley isn’t shy about stating his opinion, as his soon-to-be former employer is on the receiving end of his recent feelings of anger.
Advertisement
The 11-time All-Star made a guest appearance on Come and Talk 2 Me Podcast with Mark Jackson. When asked about his feelings regarding TNT’s debacle regarding Inside The NBA’s NBA TV rights, Barkley didn’t mince his words. He said,
“I’m not happy at all. I have not been happy with our administration for a long time… I think TNT handled it poorly. They never gave us updates. We had to learn all the crap reading newspaper articles. They never said, ‘We might be in trouble with this NBA thing.’ Then we lose it, they don’t even tell us we lost it. We had to find out on the internet.”
Despite a few weeks having passed since the announcement of Inside The NBA joining ESPN, Barkley’s emotions remain intense. The Hall-of-Fame power forward disclosed TNT and the crew’s lack of honesty during talks.
TNT’s noteworthy hosts, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Barkley, have all been with the network for decades. Ernie has been with Turner Sports the longest, since 1990. Regardless, no one provided them with any indication of the show’s future path. The crew got all of their updates regarding the show on social media and other news sources.
However, Barkley’s primary area for frustration didn’t arise due to personal frustration, but on behalf of others. “I’m not worried about me, Kenny, Shaq and Ernie,” Barkley said. “I’ve been with these people for 25 years. They’re married, they have kids. They have bills, they have mortgages. And they were going to get fired.”
Barkley did not want the longtime TNT staff behind the show to lose their jobs as a result of the company’s irresponsibility. The former MVP even volunteered to cover other sports on TNT in exchange for their job security.
He never had issues with ESPN, but his frustration persisted with TNT.
How Barkley found out about the move to ESPN
TNT did not notify any staff members of Inside The NBA’s relocation to ESPN. Unlike the updates on the TV right’s process that Barkley discovered through articles, he learned about the show’s ESPN switch through messages from coworkers.
“I get texts from ESPN people welcoming me to the family,” Barkley said. “I’m like, “Damn, we’ve been traded? At least you can tell me”. Charles attempted to make light of the situation, but his frustration with the situation was evident on his face.
On the bright side, he went on to list his great friends at ESPN, such as Bob Meyers, Brian Windhorst, and Scott Van Pelt. He’s looking forward to closing the poorly concluded chapter with TNT and opening a prosperous one with ESPN.
