Charles Barkley Says Bosses Haven’t Reached Out After He Slammed CEO Over Botched NBA Deal: ‘They Know Better’

Charles Barkley claims his bosses wouldn’t dare confront him about the way he called them out for letting TNT lose NBA media rights.

Last week, it was reported that the NBA was formalizing deals with Disney (ESPN/ABC), Amazon, and NBC — leaving TNT cut out of broadcasting games beginning in 2025. With TNT out, that also means the NBA will lose the Emmy-winning show Inside the NBA starring Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith.

After that news, Barkley appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and called his bosses “clowns” for losing out on NBA rights. He referenced Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who famously said during an investor conference that his company — which owns TNT — didn’t need the NBA. Barkley said he believes the NBA took exception to the comment.

On Thursday’s episode of SI Media, Sports Illustrated writer Jimmy Traina asked Barkley if he received any pushback from WBD higher-ups.

“Well, no. 1, they’re not gonna call me. They know better,” Barkley said. “Secondly, he should’ve never said that — plain and simple.”

“I think this is our third negotiation, and we’ve always signed during the exclusive window. It’s never come up for bidding; and, clearly, [NBA commissioner Adam Silver] is upset. I’m assuming he’s upset. And something’s going on, to be honest with you, because if we have the right to match, that would be a simple, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna match,’ or, ‘We’re not gonna match.’ So that’s the thing that’s probably got us disturbed the most. If we have the right to match it, you either say, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna match it,’ or we’re not.”

According to Zaslav, the terms of the current deal give WBD matching right. It is unknown if the company will match NBC’s offer to retain the league’s “B” package — which includes primetime games and a conference final — or match Amazon’s offer to secure the cheaper “C” package.