Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan is infamous for holding grudges, but it appears he has made an exception when it comes to Charles Barkley. During an appearance on Mad Dog Unleashed, Barkley was asked whether he had had any conversations with Jordan lately, and stunned the basketball world by revealing they’re going to get together soon.
“We had a conversation,” Barkley said, via Jimmy Traina. “We’re gonna get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.”
Host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was shocked and stated that this is a big story.
“We’re not like Prince William and Prince Harry,” Barkley said. “We always had a lot of love for each other. But we talked, actually, in the last probably 72 hours. We decided to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.”
Jordan and Barkley had become great friends during their NBA careers and remained close for years following retirement. Unfortunately, the relationship would fall apart in March 2012.
That was when Barkley appeared on ESPN Chicago’s Waddle & Silvy Show and criticized Jordan for how he was running the Charlotte Bobcats as majority owner. The team had a woeful 4-29 record at the time, and he claimed to know where the problems lay.
“I think the biggest problem has been I don’t know if he has hired enough people around him who he will listen to,” Barkley said. “One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills, so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check. They want to fly around on your private jet, so they never disagree with you. I don’t think Michael has hired enough people around him who will disagree.”
“I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job,” Barkley stated. “Even though he is one of my great friends, I can’t get on here and tell you he’s done a great job. He has not done a great job, plain and simple.”
That was constructive criticism, but those comments did not go down well. Jordan rang up Barkley and cursed him upon finding out what had been said. It appears he felt betrayed by his best friend.
Up until just a few days ago, that phone call was actually the last time Jordan and Barkley had spoken to each other. They’re finally on talking terms again now and are going to be playing golf together, just as they used to when they were in the NBA. It looks like the good old days are well and truly back.
As for how these two mended fences, that is unclear. Barkley had made it clear he would not be the first to apologize. You have a hard time imagining Jordan apologizing either, which is why it seemed like they were never going to be friends again. Whatever the case may be, it’s good to know they’ve buried the hatchet before it was too late. They are both 63 years old and aren’t going to be around for too much longer.
