Charles Barkley Didn’t Hold Back When Calling Out TNT For Being ‘Cheap’ With Security

If there’s anything that someone should know about Charles Barkley, it’s that the man rarely ever minces words on a given topic. The former NBA player is best known for dishing out his opinions on sports, especially basketball, and he even weighs in on other societal topics as well. Barkley’s blunt (and humorous) candor don’t stop at those either, as he’s even been known to call out his employers from time to time. On that note, Barkley recently had no trouble taking playful jabs at TNT over the measure they take for “security.”

Charles Barkley’s long-running sports show, Inside the NBA, may now be on ESPN, but he’s still helping with TNT’s coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament this year. Barkley recently did sideline coverage with Dick Vitale for the Texas Longhorns and NC State game, during which he spoke to studio analyst Bruce Pearl. First, Barkley hall of famer joked that one of his “prerequisites for working on this game was that [he] didn’t want to be in the studio” with Pearl due to people looking for the latter. Barkley then said this:

Tell us how you really feel! But this is indeed the kind of brutally honest reply that a person could surely expect from Barkley. On some level, he’s definitely kidding his bosses but, on another, it seems he’s truly flabbergasted by the level of security that’s been established. Awful Announcing shared the clip from the broadcast to X, and it’s just as – if not more humorous – as viewers would probably imagine:

While these comments were mostly made in jest, there have been instances in which “Sir Charles has been more serious when it comes to his employers’ dealings. Case in point, he said some wild things about the top brass at TNT (which was under the now-defunct Turner Broadcasting) when it seemed Inside the NBA would be cancelled in 2024. Warner Bros. Discovery (the parent company) lost the broadcast rights to the NBA, and Barkley criticized the brand’s handling of the situation. Also, Barkley – who’s also shown love to the company in recent years – talked about production-related issues he’s had with his bosses.

ESPN, which has also been spoken highly of by Charles Barkley, hasn’t been spared by his critiques either. Barkley admitted earlier this year that he’d been enjoying working with the company, he’d “complained” about the lack of shows Inside had done throughout the pro-basketball season up to that point. That situation was due to the amended schedule that was established for this season of Inside. On that front, ESPN’s president has already suggested changes will be made for next year.

As for potential adjustments to TNT’s security, it can’t be said whether the company might take Charles Barkley’s humorously honest comments to heart. What can be said, though, is that if Barkley continues to be as boisterous as he’s been in the broadcasting booth thus far, March Madness is going to be very entertaining this year.