During an appearance this week on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, Charles Barkley brought up his disdain for sports media talking heads who make things personal while criticizing athletes. This led to Barkley’s referencing his famous falling out with Michael Jordan.
“I lost my best friend because I criticized him. Guys can always say about me, ‘Charles, you might not like him, but he’s gonna be fair,’ because of the situation with Michael. I always said, ‘Wait a minute, I criticize other general managers. Just because the guy is my best friend, if I have a double standard, that’s not fair.’”
Barkley was then asked whether he’s tired of talking about the end of his friendship with Jordan.
“Yes! A hundred percent. A hundred percent! Because you know what, Jimmy, they act like we Prince William and Prince Harry.
“Like I said, Michael got mad about something. I said we haven’t spoken and now two times a year I have to defend. … I’m like, ‘Yo, man, Michael’s doing great, Charles is doing great.’ I wish him nothing but the best. But, like, dude, we’re not like Prince Harry and Prince William. We’re not taking shots and by backdoor channels all the time, Michael’s doing great, and I’m doing great.”
Barkley was then asked how the two have avoided each other all these years since their friendship dissolved.
“You know, that’s a great question,” said Barkley, “because I think we’ve actually only bumped into, we never got face-to-face or close enough, but I think we’ve actually only been in the same room like three times in the last 25 years.
“We were in New York at the same hotel for something one time, and then at the Hall of Fame one year he had to introduce somebody onstage, and I had to introduce somebody onstage. And I think the third time was at that 75th anniversary thing, and we never got within 25 feet of each other.
“But we don’t go to a lot of NBA functions, and I don’t go to NBA games for the simple reason, I had my day. I don’t want to take away from today’s players.”
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