Charles Barkley never liked watching Skip Bayless, but he feels bad that the former ESPN and FS1 host isn’t on television anymore.
Barkley joined The Dan Patrick Show Friday morning to discuss the first couple weeks of the NBA season. During the segment, Patrick discussed his issue with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, which opened the door for Barkley to rant about one of his favorite subjects, “these idiots on ESPN.”
“Since you’re talking about pet peeves, these idiots on ESPN, every year,” Barkley began before Patrick interrupted him.
“Why do you keep watching?” Patrick asked with a laugh. “I keep telling you…Skip Bayless isn’t around anymore, so you don’t have to worry about him!”
“Yeah, I kinda feel bad for the guy,” Barkley said of Bayless. “I didn’t like the guy, but I feel bad. I feel bad. I don’t want bad things to happen to other people.”
Bayless and FS1 parted ways earlier this summer after eight years together. It ended a nearly two-decade-long run on daily television for Bayless. But Barkley shouldn’t feel bad. While it certainly seemed like FS1 was moving on from Bayless, Bayless claims he decided to step away from television. Bayless saw his audience start to dissipate in recent years on FS1 and it made the 72-year-old believe his future was in the digital space.
Barkley and Bayless have been at odds for decades. Bayless believes their feud stems from the time he coached Barkley in a celebrity basketball game. Whatever the cause, it prompted Barkley to claim he’d like to kill Bayless during a 2005 interview with The Washington Post. Barkley has continued to toss insults at Bayless and reiterate how much he hates the polarizing sports personality over the years. Yet here we are, with Barkley almost seeming bummed that Bayless isn’t on TV anymore.
