Charles Barkley was cracking jokes over his employment status Monday during an appearance on ABC as his future at TNT remains unclear.
The “Inside the NBA” star joined P.K. Subban, Steve Levy and Mark Messier on the first intermission report of the Panthers’ 3-1 win over the Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, where he laughed about his résumé following recent reports that TNT is on the verge of losing its media rights with the league.
“Listen, I wish I had a job next year,” the 61-year-old Barkley began. “I’m [on] LinkedIn. I put on my résumé, they’re like, ‘You never had a real job.’ I said that’s not my fault.”
Barkley, who joined TNT in 2000, had himself a night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., where he also teased Rangers legend Messier about owing him $5,000 for taking a delay of game penalty over a previous interaction.
“He owes me $5,000 and he’s never paid me,” Barkley said of Messier. “I took a delay of game, he was sitting courtside in Canada, it’s a true story, and I said, ‘Ref, I need to go talk to the great Mark Messier,’ he’s like, ‘Chuck, you’re going to get a delay of game,’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’ It was the first time I’d been around him in my life, he was sitting in the front row and I said I’d take the fine, so Mark, you owe me $5,000.”
Messier, a six-time Stanley Cup champion, then told Barkley they’ll settle matters on the golf course.
The 11-time NBA All-Star didn’t just spend time with the ESPN crew Monday, as he also appeared on “Hockey Night in Canada.”
It was during that in-game interview where Barkley accidentally dropped an F-bomb when hyping Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
“Well, [the Oilers] played great in Game 1 but they didn’t win, Bobrovsky was f–king — ooh, sorry, I’m sorry,” Barkley apologized. “He was freaking amazing.”
Warning: Explicit language
Barkley was in high spirits Monday despite the uncertainty swirling around “Inside the NBA.”
With NBC, ESPN and Amazon reportedly “closing in” on deals to secure NBA rights, it’s possible the 2024-25 season could be the last for the beloved TNT program, which, in addition to Barkley, features Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.
Warner Bros. Discovery, TNT’s parent company, is said to have passed on re-upping at $2.2 billion per season, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, and can match NBC or Amazon’s package.
Barkley has continuously unloaded on TNT execs in the wake of recent developments.
“Just say something. We have not discussed it,” Barkley said during a May appearance on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast. “And I don’t mean for me. The people who work there. They’re the ones on pins and needles. Just say something to let the people be able to breathe a little bit. I can’t imagine having a family and bills. Realistically, you probably gotta start looking for another job. You’re not gonna wait a year and get fired.”
