Charles Barkley was a guest on The Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes on Tuesday and blasted ESPN for its report on the audio of Michael Jordan saying that he didn’t want Isiah Thomas on the 1992 Olympic basketball team.
In a clip that was included in the podcast The Dream Team Tapes, Jordan is heard saying that he told Rod Thorn “I don’t want to play if Isiah’s on the team.” Jordan then says that Rod Thorn assured him that Isiah Thomas wouldn’t be on the team because “Chuck doesn’t want Isiah.”
Many, including ESPN, believed that Thorn’s comments were in reference to Barkley, but Barkley told Bruno and Mayes that the Chuck Thorn referenced was Detroit Pistons and Dream Team coach Chuck Daly.
“ESPN really (can) be a bunch of jackasses,” Barkley said. “No one called me to confirm that…. that’s why ESPN are a bunch of jackasses.”
The mistake would be understandable for a laymen to make. Players, fans and his teammates on TNT’s Inside the NBA routinely refer to Barkley as Chuck. The Hall of Famer isn’t in a forgiving mood though. He says ESPN’s error is going to cause him unwanted headaches.
“I was never asked about Isiah Thomas on the Dream Team,” he said. “They got Michael on tape saying ‘Chuck don’t want Isiah on the Dream Team.’ That’s DALY! That just pisses me off cuz now I will have to answer stuff the next few days.”
