Michelle Beadle Sides With Charles Barkley, Rips ESPN For Forced Coverage Of LeBron & Lakers

Earlier this month, Charles Barkley slammed ESPN for "always talking about the same stuff" — namely, the network's obsession with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. According to former ESPN host Michelle Beadle, he has a point.

Barkley specifically called out Kendrick Perkins, calling him "an idiot and a fool" after Perkins credited the LeBron- and Luka Doncic-led Lakers team for "saving the NBA."

"First of all, on the Lakers, they had a great two weeks," Barkley said. "He said the Lakers saved the NBA season and them fools, on the other network, which we're going to be working for next year. That's all they talk about."

MORE: Charles Barkley Calls Kendrick Perkins A Dope, Prompting ESPN Host To Respond

Apparently, there's a reason for that favoritism. During a recent conversation with her Mad Dog Sports Radio co-host Cody Decker, Beadle said her former employer forced hosts to talk about the Lakers all the time — even if there were better and more interesting storylines out there.

"I worked there. We had to just always talk about the Lakers," Beadle said about her time with ESPN. "We always talked about the Cowboys. It’s brain-numbing formulated bullsh*t. There were days it was like, ‘How are we forcing a story about this? There are actually stories that people might care about.’

"Because here’s the thing about that place, it is national, it is global in some places. I get it, you think that’s what moves the needle, but Barkley’s right and this is what we’ve been trying to say all damn season. There are fun stories happening right now."

Michelle Beadle Is Over ESPN's LeBron James Obsession

This isn't the first time Beadle has refused to bow down to King James. In 2021, she accused the four-time NBA champ of trying to get her fired from ESPN because she mocked "The Decision." That was, of course, an entire 75-minute network special dedicated to LeBron's announcement of which team he would join for the 2010–11 season.

"It is not the job of one network, although I guess you could argue that it is, to just constantly suck off one player in the league and only talk about that," Beadle said.

Ultimately, Beadle said she respects Charles Barkley for telling it like it is — even if he's a little nicer than she would be.

"I just love that Barkley calls people by name. I respect that," Beadle concluded. "And I know that Kendrick Perkins has responded. We all know nothing’s gonna come of this. There’s gonna be a lot of hugging-it-out stuff when they see each other. It always is. I wish people held grudges like I hold grudges."

Oh, we know how you hold grudges, Michelle. But when you're right, you're right.