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Charles Barkley has been known as an outspoken pessimist long before he landed a seat on the popular NBA on TNT programming. The commentator has garnered a plethora of enemies with his hard-hitting criticism and personal barbs. Now, the ring-less former pro has become entangled in a feud with Cleveland Cavaliers franchise player LeBron James (who by the way has rings) in a he-said-he-said matchup that has played out all over social media and the press.
Barkley dismissed comments James made in the midst of a slump as excuses; James got caught up in his feelings in front of the cameras (not surprising if you watch his highlight of flops, he often does get emotional) and let slip his frustrations for all the world to see and cue the onslaught from Sir Charles who called James “whinny” and proceeded to portray the 32-year-old Ohio native as a soft, pampered athlete who cannot play at a high level without the unparalleled coddling from the Cavaliers organization.
Fox Sports Radio tweeted :
Alright, before you go flopping over there yourself aghast at how dare anyone challenge James let’s unpack this tweet before we continue to look at the soap opera that’s been headlining sports news lately. Now, while the delivery was curt, frank and brutally honest the Cleveland Cavaliers have spared no expense in their quest to keep James happy and their current performance doesn’t reflect the amount of financial resources being pumped into this team right now. Ever heard the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility?” Yes? Well with great financial backing comes great expectations and anything short of a championship this season will be an invitation for James to be dragged on social media.
Even Stephen A. Smith, who has his detractors as well said, “I think that LeBron James got a bit too personal,” in a quote that was tweeted by First Take and I have to agree. Barkley challenged Jame’s ability to on the court while James took one from Barkley’s playbook and proceeded to dismantle his personal shortcomings, most notably an assault case, gambling debt oh and the hardware that’s missing from his jewelry box. MTV News correspondent Jamil Smith agreed with Barkley that James shouldn’t be up in arms over his comment yet the Emmy Award winning television producer wasn’t willing to back up aggressor of this ongoing feud tweeting, “LeBron shouldn’t be complaining publicly about his team. But Charles Barkley, one of his critics, had this coming.”
Barkley – 2 / James – 1
Barkley made good points about James’ declining performances of late and James countered with a rant recounting Barkley’s shortcomings. The best thing for LeBron to do is put Beyonce on repeat, “the best revenge is your paper,” or in his case rings; look LeBron I know you think you’re the best player in the world, but if that is going to be the case stop wasting time playing the on up game on Twitter and post game press conferences and put that energy into practices with your teammates, perhaps you wouldn’t be so tired from going toe-to-toe with retired players who essentially get paid to say whatever comes to mind. Mic drop.