In the latest round of his decades-old feud with Charles Barkley, Skip Bayless is fighting back against the notion that he’s sensitive.
Two weeks ago, Barkley joined Barstool’s Spittin’ Chiclets podcast and cited his running feud with Bayless, claiming he likes to “f*ck” with Bayless because “he’s so sensitive and sh*t.” On the latest episode of The Skip Bayless Show podcast, the Undisputed host pushed back on Barkley’s accusation.
“Charles has been taking shots at me for, seriously, 20 years,” Bayless said. “I never care about anybody taking shots at me, unless that somebody repeatedly says on national TV, he would like to kill me. This coming from Barkley, just completely unprovoked. I have never criticized Charles Barkley one time, I have never said anything personally about him.”
Throughout their feud, Barkley has always been the one throwing the first punch. During a 2005 interview with The Washington Post, Barkley said he’d like to “kill” Bayless and he made a similar threat during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. In 2021, the Inside the NBA analyst also threatened to put Bayless in a “body cast.” Last year, Bayless finally pleaded with Barkley to stop calling for his death, admitting his wife literally feared the threats might kill him.
Barkley called Bayless “sensitive” on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, but he didn’t make any physical threats. According to Bayless, that’s progress, believing Barkley must have heard his plea from last year. But after ignoring Barkley’s jabs for 20 years, Bayless was especially confused by the “sensitive” accusation.
“I waited 20 years to finally stand up and call him out for saying very publicly, again and again and again, that he’d like to kill me,” Bayless continued. “I waited 20 years to do that, and now I’m so sensitive? I am still laughing about that one. Not with Charles, but at Charles.”
Bayless said he won’t be biting his tongue for 20 years again, claiming every time Barkley jabs him, he’s going to punch right back. Which means there will probably be many more rounds to this back-and-forth without them ever actually speaking in person.
“My theory is, deep down, Charles resents me,” Bayless said. “Because I all too often see and say things that he wishes he had seen and said.”
Ironically, three months ago, Bayless admitted he envies Barkley’s ability to say whatever is on his mind without fear or threats of being canceled.
