After transitioning from the NBA court to the broadcasting studio, Charles Barkley hasn’t shied away from calling out sports media. Passionate about golf and football as much as he is about basketball, ‘Sir Charles‘ has forged some strong friendships across all sports. One of them is one of the most popular and successful coaches in the NFL right now. But his recent run is under the shadow of doubt. However, there is one person in the 8x Super Bowl champion’s corner. His longtime buddy, Charles Barkley.

Interestingly, the 71-year-old coach was instrumental in transforming the New England Patriots into a championship-winning team. This same franchise once cost Barkley, a notorious gambler on sporting events, a painful loss.

Charles Barkley defends an NFL icon

It’s believed that Charles Barkley began his friendship with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in the ’90s. After a short stint as assistant in New England, Belichick would return to the franchise in 2000 as head coach and general manager. Their friendship has remained strong through that, though Belichick and sports media are old frenemies.

NFL analysts haven’t been the kindest on the coach who is facing most of the blame. But Charles Barkley won’t stand for it. Known for defending his friends from the harshest of critics, the NBA legend slammed the negativity surrounding Coach Belichick while on The Bill Simmons Podcast.

“You guys got to stop treating my guy Belichick bad,” Barkley told the host, Bill Simmons, who is also a major Patriots supporter. “I love Belichick. I consider him a good friend...I’m so disgusted with some of these punk-a** guys on television talking about Bill being on the hot seat and things like that.” He was probably holding it in for a long time because talk about Belichick being on the “hot seat” first came up in 2019.

Belichick transformed the Patriots and also became one of the most celebrated coaches in the NFL. But at least since 2020, the 8x Super Bowl-winning coach has been in the “hot seat” with the rest of the Patriots team in a slump. The Patriots have not won a playoff game since losing Tom Brady (also Barkley’s man-crush).

READ MORE: After ESPN’s Fall Out With $65 Billion Media Giant Results in Travesty, Is Charles Barkley’s Prophecy Coming True?

Recently, analysts have been amping the pressure on the Patriots franchise, bringing changes to the team starting with the coach. If that happens, Barkley is certainly not going to stay quiet. However, Belichick once cost the 1993 NBA MVP.

The Chuckster was left hurting by Belichick’s team

One of Barkley’s annual Super Bowl traditions is to head to Las Vegas and bet on the contenders. In 2016, Bill Belichick’s star quarterback, Tom Brady pulled a turnaround that won the Patriots the Super Bowl and cost Barkley $100,000 for betting against them. However, he once claimed to have won seven times that amount putting his money on Belichick.

Despite picking and choosing bets, Barkley will always remain in Belichick’s corner. Even the likes of Shannon Sharpe think Belichick is in trouble. Barkley believes his friend doesn’t deserve this pressure. “It shouldn’t even be close to the hot seat.” Do football fans agree with Barkley?

WATCH THIS STORY | Charles Barkley Slyly Takes a Dig at LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant While Putting Nikola Jokic on a Pedestal