Charles Barkley ,you better stop talking s*** about Cleveland you was never tough you hide behind TNT
— Charles Oakley (@CharlesOakley34) May 5, 2016
Here’s Charles Barley explaining that Oakley does not like him:
It has been a known fact which dates back at least 20 years, Charles Oakley who is universally agreed to be the toughest player of his era, does not like Charles Barkley. During their careers, it was known that Oakley felt Barkley was “all talk” that he “needed to shut up” and that Barkley was a “fake tough guy who couldn’t back it up.” The two fought during a preseason game in 1996, and there have long been rumors that during a Player’s Association meeting in 1999 Barkley would not shut up, so Oakley walked across the room and slapped Barkley to shut him up. Apparently that shut Barkley up. Last night as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Atlanta Hawks during the 2016 NBA Playoffs, Barkley apparently talked trash on Cleveland, and Oakley (who is from Cleveland) took offense and took to Twitter to call Barkley out. Charles Oakley splits his time between New York City (where he often enjoys a healthy breakfast in Central Park after spin class) and Atlanta, where NBA on TNT studios are, and if Barkley continues to talk trash on Oakley like he does in the video above there is a chance Oakley shows up in the studio and slaps Barkley to shut him up again. Bite your tongue and be afraid, Barkley.
In an interview with ESPN in 2012, Charles Oakley discussed his feelings towards Charles Barkley, and addresses the rumor that he slapped Barkley in a Player’s Association meeting in 1999:
On allegedly slapping Barkley during a players’ association meeting in 1999:
“We were trying to get a deal done. Things happen. It just happened. There was no playing or plodding. It just happened.”
On definitely slapping Barkley in a preseason game in 1996:
“If something goes down, we’re not going to talk about it a week later. Some guys say, ‘I’ll meet you after the game.’ No. It’s in the game. Just like different restaurants have different menus, it’s a different era. I don’t know what type of players there are now. In my time, that was just the way we played the game.”
On how he feels about Barkley today:
“I don’t go around talking to him. He has opinions. He talks every Tuesday and Thursday about things I did. I just don’t like the way he tried to act like he was a good citizen when he played or that he was this and that. He was one of the hardest people to get along with, to play with, everything — but people don’t write about it. People give him a free pass because he’s on TV, but I don’t believe in that. When he spit on the guy in Cleveland, he got a break. I just don’t like when you preach one thing and do something else. That’s what the world is coming to. It’s just phony. Nobody stands up for what they say anymore.”
Charles Oakley and Charles Barkley throwing punches at each other in 1996: