Throughout his career, Charles Barkley has never been the type to mince words. Whether dissecting games, dissing Shaquille O’Neal, or making general commentary, Barkley remains unfiltered. But, that has always been part of his charm. While ESPN suffers from mass firings, fans wonder if Charles would’ve suffered the same fate if he was with their brand. On that note, Chuck’s comments from earlier come to mind.
An NBA analyst certainly thinks so. Further, he even detailed how some players have a strong dislike towards the Phoenix Suns legend.
Charles Barkley wouldn’t have thrived at ESPN
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According to Rob Parker, who was let go by the company due to his own controversial comments, Barkley’s attitude, which even involves potentially offensive jokes, would have cost him his job were he working for ESPN. While he was complimentary of the star’s boisterous attitude, he understood the repercussions of it.
He explained how the attitude had hurt Charles’ image throughout the NBA. “The thing about Charles is he’s willing to say just about anything. A lot of players in the NBA don’t like him because he just refuses to go along and be a mouthpiece for the players or the league.”
Parker claimed that the demeanor wasn’t a fault, but rather what made the Philadelphia 76ers star “who he is”.?Instead, Parker pointed towards Chuck’s employers.
“TNT – they allow him to be him. I worked at ESPN and people got suspended all the time…Working at ESPN was sometimes like going to high school. You got to go to the principal’s office.”
It seems like the host of the Odd Couple with Chris Broussard has some bitter feelings after his termination by ESPN. After some infamous comments about Robert Griffin III, Rob was first suspended. However, soon after, it became apparent that he wasn’t returning.
However, his comments do give more credibility to Charles Barkley‘s take from years ago.
Barkley reveals his stance against ESPN
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The crew at TNT is always a highlight. In Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Shaq, and Chuck, the network has found a winning formula.
Whenever on TV, they are a must-watch. But, their commentary isn’t solely about the games. Sometimes, they take over different topics as well. Like, when Charles revealed the primary reason he would never be a colleague at Stephen A. Smith’s workplace. According to him, the network would require too many hours from him.
“They are going to work me like a dog and not pay me,” he said, “You?re going to be on ESPN 1,2,3, ESPN News, ESPN NU, ESPN Radio and then come up with that puny little check.”?As a result, it seems like Chuckster is going to be a TNT exclusive.
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Either way, we wouldn’t want the best NBA show on TV to be broken up. Perhaps, it’s for the best, that Charles stays on with a remarkable crew that let him be him.
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