Charles Barkley Calls TNT Bosses 'Clowns' For Potentially Losing NBA to NBC
It looks like TNT is going to lose its NBA rights after 35 years. According to multiple reports, NBC is on the cusp of acquiring those rights.
That has left many to wonder what will happen to one of the best sports shows in the country, "Inside the NBA," which features Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.
Barkley, one of the most outspoken figures in sports media, appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" Thursday morning and, as usual, didn't hold back.
"Morale sucks, plain and simple," Barkley said. "I just feel so bad for the people I work with … these people have families."
Charles Barkley told Dan Patrick that morale at TNT "sucks" and that his bosses screwed up the negotiation for NBA rights.
(Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
Barkley feels bad for THOSE people he works with – the production people and those who help bring "Inside the NBA" and the NBA broadcasts to the TNT air.
But there's another group of people he works with, his bosses at TNT, and Barkley most certainly does not feel bad for them.
"These people I work with, they've screwed this thing up, clearly," Barkley stated bluntly about the higher-ups at the network.
He wasn't done there, either.
"My two favorite wines are Inglenook and Opus, and these clowns I work for have turned us into Ripple, Boone's Farm and Thunderbird," Barkley said.
Kudos to him for wine knowledge, both on the high end and on the very low end. I have to say, just hearing "Boone's Farm" brought back some memories. But that's a story for another day.
Charles Barkley rips TNT bosses for screwing up the negotiations for the NBA rights.
Back to Barkley:
"[David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] came out and said ‘we didn’t need the NBA,'" the former NBA star continued. "So, I think that probably pissed Adam [Silver] off … well, he [doesn't] need it. But the rest of the people – me, Kenny, Shaq and Ernie and the people who work there – we need it.
"It just sucks right now."
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The pair also discussed Charley Barley's production company and possibly hiring the entire crew to re-create the show and sell it to a network like NBC or ESPN. Barkley said he's thought about that.
It would be interesting, and that's perhaps the way to do it for the biggest stars in sports media. For example, Pat McAfee owns his show and licenses it to ESPN. He retains control but gets exposure from a big network.
For guys like Barkley and Shaq, in particular, who like to speak their minds and not worry about what corporate bigwigs think, that feels like a perfect fit. If anything, it might make "Inside the NBA" even better.
In a strange way, perhaps TNT losing the NBA rights will be the best thing to happen to that crew. We'll just have to wait and see.