Shocking! Charles Barkley Slams ‘Greedy’ Players & Owners for Ignoring Fans!

1. Following the NBA’s recent television contracts with ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon, Charles Barkley voiced his concerns about the current streaming landscape in a CNBC interview on Thursday.

As sports leagues continue to divide their TV rights into multiple packages, fans are shelling out more than ever to watch games—a topic we discussed in Thursday’s Traina Thoughts. Barkley, however, is fed up with this trend.

“There are greedy players and greedy owners,” Barkley told CNBC. “All they care about is making the maximum amount of money. The regular fan should never be overlooked in favor of money. Not everyone can afford streaming. There’s nothing wrong with streaming per se, but when it becomes a matter of going with the highest bidder and abandoning regular television, I think you’re doing a disservice to the fans. Sure, players and owners want to maximize their earnings, but the fans should always come first. Regardless of how much money you make, if the fans aren’t watching, it’s a no-win situation.”

While I respect Barkley’s perspective and largely concur with it, declaring it a lose-lose situation is tricky, given that most fans aren’t tuning into NBA games nationally during the regular season. Yet, the NBA still managed to rake in $76 billion from its latest television contracts.

According to Sports Media Watch, the 2023–24 regular season saw an average viewership of 1.09 million across ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV—a figure that hardly qualifies the NBA as a ratings powerhouse.

The networks didn’t shell out $76 billion for the ratings. Instead, they invested in the content volume. NBC needs content for Peacock, and Amazon is eager for any live sports content they can get. With the NBA offering games daily from October to April, the league is an ideal partner for these networks looking to populate their schedules with live broadcasts.

And the viewership numbers don’t matter because the league has already secured its funds, which will eventually trickle down to the players. Contrary to Barkley’s plea, the fans’ interests aren’t really a priority for anyone.

2. With the addition of Tom Brady, Fox is reshuffling its NFL broadcast teams for the 2024 season.

The most significant change (apart from Brady) is the promotion of Mark Sanchez to the No. 3 team alongside Adam Amin. This is a smart move as Sanchez has shown great potential, and Amin, who previously worked with Mark Schlereth, is always a pleasure to listen to.

The Amin-Sanchez team has the potential to become one of the best pairs for Sunday afternoon broadcasts.

3. I’m still astounded by the ongoing fuss over JJ Redick’s use of the f-word during his introductory press conference as Lakers coach. It was absurd then, and it’s even more so now. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin’s take on this is utterly bewildering.

If I understand Cronin correctly, she’s suggesting that Redick’s use of the curse word while coaching could be problematic? So, Redick will be the first NBA head coach in history to curse? I hope the players and referees won’t be traumatized when they hear Redick use the expletive.

Can we please grow up?

4. We’re not here to critique the performance. We just want to give a big shout-out to Travis Kelce for taking on one of the most iconic power ballads of the ’80s, Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again,” at the American Century Championship charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

5. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill should be permanently barred from creating lists.