SI

Charles Barkley Remains Unfiltered Despite Working for ESPN

The ‘Inside the NBA’ star went off on ‘idiots’ and ‘fools’ in sports media over the Liam Coen-Lynn Jones ‘controversy.’
Jimmy Traina|
Charles Barkley isn’t afraid to share his opinions about sports media despite now working for ESPN.
Charles Barkley isn’t afraid to share his opinions about sports media despite now working for ESPN. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

1. During a Tuesday morning appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show, Charles Barkley was asked about the Indiana-Miami national title game.

However, Barkley did not want to talk about the Indiana-Miami game. He wanted to talk about the controversy that erupted last week when Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jones heaped praise on Jaguars coach Liam Coen after his team was eliminated from the playoffs with a loss to the Bills.

“Can I say [Miami] had a great year?” Barkley asked Le Batard. “You know why? Because I don’t want all these punk-ass reporters and clowns talking bad about me like they did that lady in Jacksonville who had a moment of humanity.

“Think about that, Dan. Jacksonville had a great year. They won four games last year. And we got so many punks on television and on radio now, because I don’t get into the social media stuff, but I started looking and it was a big story brewing. Is this woman serious? She’s supposed to be a journalist. Have we got to the point now where you just have to be an idiot or fool or jackass to be on television or [a] podcast or something now?”

I don’t know what’s taken Barkley so long to figure that out, but yes, idiots, fools and jackasses usually generate the most headlines.

Le Batard, though, couldn’t help but question Barkley over his takedown of sports media given that Inside the NBA now airs on ESPN.

“I’m curious, though, how this is going over at ESPN, that you continue to call people who work there punks, idiots, fools and jackasses,” Le Batard asked.

“Well, they can fire me,” declared Barkley before giving us some vintage Sir Charles.

“I got seven years on my contract. I’m 100% retired, but if I can do something just a little bit stupid so they have to fire me, they’ll have to pay me for the whole seven years.”

You've got to love Barkley saying he’s basically retired even though he’s in year one of Inside the NBA airing on ESPN thanks to a sub-licensing agreement with Warner Brothers Discovery.

2. Here is Sean McDonough’s ESPN Radio call of Fernando Mendoza’s impressive 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-5 in the fourth quarter on Monday night.

Here’s how ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit reacted to the touchdown while his partner, Chris Fowler, was making the call.

3.  I’ve never ever understood this take.

How would a referee “working” in the middle of July help them get a call right in January? The NFL season is five months long. What in the bloody hell would these refs do for those other seven months?

Even Pereira’s quote makes no sense.

“I think it’s time to look at full-time officials,” Pereira told the Charlotte Observer. “Not everyone. But I do believe that the person that represents the crew in the field, the guy in the white hat, the referee—I think those 17 people should be full-time working together all year. Not going home in between games, but going to an officiating institute and breaking down all the games together, so the messages are consistent."

So the goal isn’t to get the call right on the field? The goal is to have consistent messages?

4. The NBA has a new schedule for the Finals this season.

Last year’s schedule was Thursday-Sunday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday-Wednesday-Friday.

This year: Finals start on Wednesday instead of Thursday, no Sunday games, series could end on a Friday if it goes seven games.

5. Outstanding stuff here from NFL Films capturing the reaction to Caleb Williams’s wild game-tying touchdown with just a few seconds remaining in regulation against the Rams on Sunday.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico.

Tirico talks about not knowing what NFC divisional game he would call until Joe Buck announced it to the public, calling his first Super Bowl on Feb. 8, going straight from the Super Bowl to hosting the Olympics for NBC and his epic call at the end of the Ravens-Steelers game in Week 18.

In addition, Tirico shares his thoughts on his interview with Michael Jordan that NBC chopped up into several segments and the public’s reaction to that being Jordan’s role with the network in its return to airing the NBA.

Following Tirico, Sal Licata joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the NFL playoffs, old-school wrestling content and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This might be the biggest trainwreck in the history of Wheel of Fortune.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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