Charles Barkley on the set of Inside The NBA.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley did not win any championships as a player but holds the title for biggest trash talker in the media. Barkley has been a member of the Emmy-Award winning Inside the NBA for 20 years. He has never been one to mince words and kept the same energy with Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving.
Barkley Wants Kyrie To Focus on Hoops
“Yo, man, shut the hell up and talk basketball,” Barkley said of Irving Thursday, on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin morning show. “He’s a basketball player. That’s what he is. Listen, we’re not front-line responders. We’re not teachers. Yo man, you dribble a basketball, stop acting like you’re the smartest person in the world.”
Kyrie Versus The Media Continues
Barkley isn’t the first media member to unload on Kyrie and his proposed media blackout. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said last week that Kyrie’s comments made him come off as ‘a damn snob.’ Smith later doubled down on his commentary saying that Kyrie’s mentor, the late Kobe Bryant wouldn’t be happy with his decision to not talk to the media. David Aldridge of The Athletic also chimed in saying “I also do not expect to hear from Kyrie when league awards, many selected by the media, are decided, as he should not seek or accept any honor bestowed by those he holds in such contempt.”
Irving did finally address the media after being fined $25k for his negligence. Still, the war of words (or lack thereof) between Kyrie and the media doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.
READ NEXT: Magic Johnson Details Truth Behind Michael Jordan’s Infamous Shrug