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Shaq, Charles Barkley Jokingly Take Sides in NFL Reporter Brouhaha at Starbucks

Shaq and Chuck are ready to square up.

Brigid Kennedy

'Inside the NBA' panel on Feb. 27, 2025.
'Inside the NBA' panel on Feb. 27, 2025. / Inside the NBA / Twitter / Screenshot

The verbal altercation between NFL reporters Ian Rapoport and Jordan Schultz at the NFL scouting combine this week is (jokingly) tearing apart Inside the NBA.

On Thursday, analysts Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith took a stab at dissecting the football drama du jour, which is believed to have begun when Rapoport somewhat disputed Schultz's report regarding a meet-up between Tom Brady and potential Las Vegas Raiders trade acquisition Matthew Stafford. Schultz later confronted Rapoport at a Starbucks in Indianapolis, and the two engaged in a brief but heated exchange that was ultimately reported to NFL security.

As such, Thursday's Inside the NBA kicked off with Barkley proclaiming he's in a "good mood, man," because he "was at Starbucks today. It's dangerous in there, Ernie. There's fists flying everywhere."

The panel then went on to crack a few more jokes about the whole thing before O'Neal noted that he has "always respected" how Schultz, son of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, opted to take the sports media route instead of inheriting the world's most recognizable coffee chain. He then looked at the camera and squared up, seemingly implying that he'd be willing to fight for the Fox reporter.

Well, Barkley couldn't have that. He went on to say that he's "got Ian in this one" before he and O'Neal set a date for a fight—May 19— when the two reporters (plus Chuck and Shaq) can settle it once and for all.

Watch that funny dialogue below:

Now, of course, neither Rapoport nor Schultz could watch this happen and say nothing.

"Charles always has my back. Appreciate you, my guy," Rapoport wrote on social media in response.

"If only Charles knew who called security, he would've had this same reaction along with my guy Shaq," said Schultz, who linked a years-old clip of Barkley and Shaq belly laughing years ago over the LAPD getting called to the Los Angeles Lakers locker room in his reply.

The media beef continues.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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