Charles Barkley isn’t holding back when it comes to his frustration with TNT Sports and how the network has handled the looming end of Inside the NBA. During an appearance on Pardon My Take, the Hall of Famer turned Emmy-winning analyst expressed deep disappointment in how TNT’s executives communicated — or failed to — during the uncertainty surrounding the NBA’s new media rights deal and the future of their program on TNT.
“TNT, our bosses, they sucked. Plain and simple,” Barkley said bluntly. “We literally were playing golf during the playoffs, looking at the internet. On story said we lost it, the next story said we still were in negotiations. TNT never came to us like grown folks.”
As reports swirled about Warner Bros. Discovery potentially losing NBA rights to NBC and Amazon, Barkley said those working on Inside the NBA were left in the dark. Even more troubling to him was the emotional toll it took on longtime colleagues who were concerned about their financial stability in the near future.
“These people I genuinely like and love. I’ve been with them for 25 years,” Barkley said. “To hear them talk about losing their jobs in six month. As it got closer, you can see the concern. I thought TNT, our bosses did a s***y job. They did an awful job of keeping us abreast.”
Rather than hear the news internally, Barkley revealed that he found out about the rumored “trade” of Inside the NBA talent to ESPN from the very people at the new network.
“I get a text from Scott Van Pelt, Brian Windhorst, Elle Duncan and Bob Myers saying, ‘Welcome to the family. I’m sitting there like, ‘What family,’ said Barkley. “An hour and a half later, I get a call from TNT when the story broke. I told them you probably could have given us a heads up. You traded us to ESPN, and we had to hear about it on the internet. That’s just not the way you do business.”
Although Barkley did credit TNT for acknowledging a recent pilot episode taped with the Inside the NBA crew as “awful” and getting rid of it, he made it clear he doesn’t want the show’s legacy tarnished by misguided creative decisions.
“They’re trying to do something. We don’t know what it is yet. We taped a pilot, and it was a s*** pilot,” Barkley admitted. “We did axe throwing, and then finger painting. We did four-fifteen minute sections. I was sitting there saying I think this is stupid. I don’t know how stupid it’s going to be till I see it. When we walked outside the studio that night, we’re like that’s the stupidest s*** we’ve ever done.”
Despite his candor, Barkley still expressed love for his coworkers and appreciation for what Inside the NBA has meant to fans.
“People love our show. Don’t just do something stupid just to do it,” he said.
Details of Inside the NBA and how it will be included in ESPN’s coverage of the NBA next season has yet to be released.
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