Even on his rare day off, Charles Barkley still managed to go viral on Friday after the NBA legend and TNT analyst delivered a soundbite for the ages in defense of Pat McAfee’s upcoming move to ESPN.
Appearing on Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Barkley offered a few strong words of encouragement to the popular talk show host amid backlash he’s received over his recently announced deal with ESPN. McAfee opened the conversation praising Barkley and Inside the NBA for keeping the masses, including the new dad himself, entertained throughout the postseason.
After thanking McAfee, Barkley pivoted to the criticism and McAfee’s comments on May 17 addressing the negative feedback. Needless to say, Chuck took exception to the commentary on behalf of his friend and fellow TV personality, prompting the Hall of Famer to give McAfee some unsolicited advice on what he should tell the haters as only he can.
“Tell them to shut the f— up,” Barkley exclaimed. “Who don’t take a better f------ job? Tell them to shut the f— up.”
"Tell em to shut the fuck up" ~ Charles Barkley
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 26, 2023
😂😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LUXpUDE3r0
Of course, as you might’ve expected, Barkley did not stop there. As McAfee and his crew burst into laughter over the reply, Barkley had a few more NSFW words to add after McAfee thanked him for the encouragement.
“I just laughed,” Barkley said of the critics. “I’m like, wait, who the f— don’t take a better job?”
While Friday’s exchange and others like it may not go over well on the show’s new network, McAfee and Barkley clearly appear to be on the same page when it comes to their approach on handling criticism. Not to mention, McAfee’s reported eight-figure deal with ESPN should be enough for him to have the last laugh at the end of the day.
