Charles Barkley and Washington D.C. sports talk host Danny Rouhier have been seeing (or hearing) a lot of each other lately.
Rouhier’s spot-on impersonation of Barkley went viral on social media, leading to his clip being played on TNT’s Inside the NBA. Following up on that a few days later, the show had Rouhier on to impersonate “Chuck” while interviewing Chuck. The Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and Brooklyn Nets might disagree, but Rouhier’s “Chuck” could end up being the story of the NBA Playoffs — at least on the Turner side of postseason coverage.
The unexpected connection between the two continued Monday afternoon on D.C.’s 106.7 The Fan with Barkley returning the favor and appearing on the Grant and Danny show to talk about, well, nearly everything. (Should we say Barkley is actually doing Rouhier another favor? Probably.)
Rouhier recalled being on hold with the Inside crew before his segment and listening to Barkley and Kenny Smith give Shaquille O’Neal a hard time about the show losing in one of the Sports Emmy Awards categories. The comments were not safe for television. Barkley responded by saying he wished fans could hear them off the air, but then caught himself and realized they’d probably be fired for what they say.
That touched off a lament on cancel culture, something Barkley said he and his colleagues talk about all the time. But it’ll only be a concern for a couple more years because Barkley intends to retire when he turns 60.
Charles Barkley says he intends to work until he’s 60 and then anyone trying to cancel him “can kiss my ass”: pic.twitter.com/RktlsF81Zh
— Clips & Quips (@Clipselberry) June 15, 2021
“I’m trying to hang on for another couple years until I’m 60,” said Barkley. “And then they can kiss my ass. I’m only working ’til 60. I’ve already told ’em that. I’m not working until the day I die; that’s just stupid. And if I don’t have enough money by now, I’m an idiot anyway so they should fire me.”
Barkley has been saying for a few years now that he planned to retire when he turned 60, and he’s apparently sticking to that. He’s currently following the timeline laid out, eyeing the end of his broadcasting career in 2023. So we have a couple more years, barring any change of mind, to enjoy him on Inside the NBA and elsewhere.
Rouhier and Paulsen also asked if Barkley had ever heard from NBA players and coaches that he criticized on-air. As you might expect, the Hall of Famer confirmed players, coaches, and agents have clapped back at him over the years but not as much anymore. Maybe because Barkley is so established as a candid analyst and commentator.
Yet Chuck took issue with sportscasters who criticize certain players, but not others. He had words for one, in particular, a current Fox Sports personality whom he’s gone after plenty of times before.
Charles Barkley gripes about sportscasters who pick and choose who to criticize, notably “punk-ass Skip Bayless”: pic.twitter.com/0oDu9wr0m1
— Clips & Quips (@Clipselberry) June 15, 2021
“That’s the one thing I hate about a lot of sportscasters, the one reason I hate on punk-ass Skip Bayless,” said Barkley, “is because he cherry-picks the guys he likes and the guys he don’t like. And if you’ve actually paid attention to him going back, you can just tell he hates that guy or he loves that guy. And I don’t think that’s the way you should do your job.”
Related: Charles Barkley lost his wallet at Chipotle
There is plenty more to enjoy from Rouhier and Paulsen’s conversation with Barkley, which went two segments. Other topics include Barkley recalling a celebrity calling him about wanting to sue Frank Caliendo for his impersonations, the agent who stole money from him, and Kenny Smith always wanting freebies from Inside the NBA sponsors.
You can listen to Grant and Danny online at Audacy.com or through the Audacy app and your favorite podcast app.
