Why does Charles Barkley hate Skip Bayless? Examining the two polarising figures' relationship

Charles Barkley has made no secret about his disdain for Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless. However, the former NBA All-Star has seldom provided insight as to why he has such a problem with Bayless in the first place.

During a guest appearance on an episode of the 'All The Smoke' podcast, Barkley finally revealed why he has a problem with Bayless.

"I don't like the guy because television is a very powerful weapon. Everybody watches television, and I don't mind you criticizing guys, but it can never be too personal. You can't talk about people like that because you have to be fair and honest with people."

"You can tell whom he likes; you can tell whom he dislikes because he makes it personal. You can't say bad stuff about LeBron James. Skip's disrespect towards him, I don't like it. He's been rewarded so much with the way he's made his money and made his living I have a problem with it."

Throughout his tenure on TNT, Barkley has made multiple comments regarding his distaste for the outspoken Bayless. Barkley's comments on Bayless have been so frequent throughout his career that multiple YouTube compilation videos are built around his comments.

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Skip Bayless' wife believes Charles Barkley could have 'blood on his hands.'

In 2022, Skip Bayless revealed that his wife believes Barkley's consistent vitriol toward her husband could one day inspire someone to take his life.

“My wife Ernestine has believed for 15 years, that Charles Barkley is nothing but a sick individual. To her, he is just pure evil, that he is depraved, that he is a scumbag and she fears that one day, Charles will somehow… inspire some other nut to end my life."

Bayless continued:

“And this haunts her, this hurts her because she believes that in the end, Charles Barkley would have my blood on his hands.”

Bayless and Barkley are unlikely to bury the hatchet anytime soon. As such, we can likely expect some more shots to be fired in their war of words in the coming years, as neither side appears willing to back down.

Barkley has an issue with how Bayless conducts himself and how he uses his personal feelings to draw analytic conclusions. Bayless doesn't like being called out in public.

Neither party is afraid to speak their minds. It's a recipe for a long-running feud to continue despite it being in the best interests of both sides to finally call it quits.