Former ESPN employee Michelle Beadle sided with Charles Barkley after the TNT analyst brutally criticized ESPN’s NBA coverage.
Earlier this month, Barkley slammed the network for ‘always talking about the same stuff’ – namely, the network’s repetitive focus on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA Hall of Famer went on to call Kenrick Perkins ‘an idiot and a fool’ for claiming the Lakers pairing James with Luka Doncic was ‘saving the NBA.’
‘First of all, on the Lakers, they had a great two weeks,’ Barkley said. ‘He said the Lakers saved the NBA season and them fools, on the other network, which we’re going to be working for next year. That’s all they talk about.’
Speaking with her Mad Dog Sports Radio co-host, Cody Decker, Beadle shared how ESPN forced hosts to talk about the Lakers.
‘I worked there. We had to just always talk about the Lakers,’ Beadle said about her time with ESPN. ‘We always talked about the Cowboys. It’s brain-numbing formulated bulls***.’
Charles Barkley slammed ESPN for focusing on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers
‘There were days it was like, ‘How are we forcing a story about this? There are actually stories that people might care about.’
‘Because here’s the thing about that place, it is national, it is global in some places,’ Beadle added.
‘I get it, you think that’s what moves the needle, but Barkley’s right and this is what we’ve been trying to say all damn season. There are fun stories happening right now.’
This is not the first time Beadle has been critical of the four-time NBA champion. In 2021, she accused James of trying to get her fired from ESPN for mocking ‘The Decision’ – a 75-minute network special dedicated to James’ team announcement before the 2010-11 season.
‘It is not the job of one network, although I guess you could argue that it is, to just constantly suck off one player in the league and only talk about that,’ Beadle said.
Furthermore, Beadle expressed how she respected Barkley’s forwardness and honesty.
‘I just love that Barkley calls people by name. I respect that,’ Beadle concluded. ‘And I know that Kendrick Perkins has responded. We all know nothing’s gonna come of this. There’s gonna be a lot of hugging-it-out stuff when they see each other. It always is. I wish people held grudges like I hold grudges.’
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