Barkley on LeBron: I will never take shot at a guy’s personal life
Feb 2, 2017, 3:26 PM | Updated: 11:44 pm
FILE - In this May 2, 2015, file photo, Charles Barkley joins the crowd before the start of the world welterweight championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Barkley calls it friendly fire, the criticism a rich black gets for talking about race from fellow blacks who believe he can't understand their struggles. But the basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst says he can handle it, and hopes he can create conversation that makes a difference beyond the things he's already doing when his show "The Race Card" debuts in 2017. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
(AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Bickley and Marotta, former Suns forward and current NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley discussed his feud with Cavaliers’ forward LeBron James.
Barkley stated again that he wouldn’t take any personal shots at James.
“I stick 100 percent to basketball,” Barkley said. “No matter what anybody says about me, I’m never gonna take a shot at a guy’s personal life. I never even discuss a guy’s personal life.”
The feud between Barkley and James started on Jan. 24 after the Cavs lost their fourth game in six outings, James expressed his feelings that the Cavs were top-heavy and not good enough, making it known once again he wanted to add another playmaker to the roster.
Three days later, Barkely and Shaquille O’Neal debated James’ comments on TNT. Barkley called James’ word “whiny” and said the Cavs have given him everything he wants. Barkley has been critical of James in the past, especially for his decision to sign with the Heat in 2010. James, who had previously not fired back at Barkley, went on the offensive.
“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that,” James told ESPN on Tuesday. “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.”
On Thursday, Barkley mentioned that when he joined the Suns in 1992, he had two other star players, Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson, and thought his team was set. The Suns did not win a title in his four years with Phoenix. Barkley feels that LeBron, whose team is the defending champions, should be comfortable with what he has.
“First of all, LeBron’s a better player than me,” Barkley said. “We lost to the champions three years in a row. I’m good. I got help. My concern with LeBron is you’ve got Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and you’re the best player in the world. I’d take my chances against anybody. ”
Barkley doubled down on his comments to Bickley and Marotta, and discussed James mentioning mistakes or flaws from Barkley’s past.
“Clearly he had Googled me and found out everything I had done in my life,” Barkley said. “My friends have been texting me different things LeBron left out. I failed Spanish in high school. Martha Stewart beat me in Jeopardy.”
While Barkley repeatedly mentioned how great a player and a person James is, he’s sticking to his belief that the four-time MVP should work with what he has and not complain about what he doesn’t.
