The most popular in-studio analyst in all of sports could soon be calling it quits. Charles Barkley has indicated that he doesn’t plan on staying in his current role on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” for much longer.
Barkley, 58, said this week that he’ll stop working once he reaches his next milestone birthday, which is set to happen during the 2022-23 NBA season.
“I’m trying to hang on for another couple of years until I’m 60 and then they can kiss my ass,” Barkley told 106.7 The Fan’s “Grant & Danny."
“I’m only working till 60 ... I’ve already told ‘em that. I’m not working until the day I die, that’s stupid. And, if I don’t have enough money by now, I’m an idiot anyway, so they should fire me anyway.”
Charles Barkley says his bosses won't let him talk about San Antonio and their "big ole women" anymore on Inside The NBA pic.twitter.com/jfxfIgK6mZ
— Viral Sports (@NotScTop10plays)
Those comments were preceded by Barkley’s assertion that TNT has limited what he’s allowed to say on the air. Barkley pointed to his feud with San Antonio for making jokes about the city’s women.
A report in February from the San Antonio Express-News that criticized Barkley for fat-shaming prompted the network to tell the NBA Hall of Famer to stop talking about the subject.
“They’re like, ‘Charles, we got one lady wrote an article,’” Barkley said. “I’m like first of all, I didn’t call anybody personally fat in San Antonio. I was just joking around and when this one lady wrote this article … we’ve been having fun with this for probably 10, 15 years!”
Barkley’s unfiltered style has allowed him to become arguably the most beloved sports commentator of the last two decades. The 11-time All-Star retired after the 1999 NBA season and joined TNT as an analyst the following year.
Ernie Johnson, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley Photo: Robert Occhialini/ Flickr
