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Charles Barkley Says He's a 'Little Concerned' for Bill Belichick Amidst Interview Drama

Barkley says the two have been great friends for a long time.

Liam McKeone

Barkley said Belichick has been a friend of his for a long time
Barkley said Belichick has been a friend of his for a long time / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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Bill Belichick's interview with CBS last weekend has been at the center of the news cycle this week. The UNC coach's awkward answer about leaving Robert Kraft out of his new book and the behavior of his girlfriend Jordon Hudson have been talking points throughout the football world, to the extent Belichick released a statement bashing CBS for the clips aired for the interview on Monday which led to a statement from the network pushing back on several of the famous coach's claims.

Such a media circus with Belichick smack-dab in the middle is an unfamiliar sight after the longtime New England Patriots head coach spent decades going to borderline comical lengths to avoid the public spotlight. This is a red flag to Charles Barkley, an old friend of Belichick's who spoke on the matter during the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday.

"I'm not sure what's going on," Barkley said. "He's been a great friend for me for a long time. We've been friends since he coached for the Browns. I think he's got to be very careful right now. This is starting to be a very slippery slope... I never talk about people's personal relationships. That's another rule I got. But I will admit I'm a little concerned with some of the stuff that's going on, and I might actually reach out to him to make sure everything's good. But I am concerned from what I'm hearing. It's not a good look right now, I'll admit that."

This story doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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