Skip Bayless is not everyone’s cup of tea, his hot takes and strong opinions often have NBA fans scoffing at him and criticizing him in every way they can think of. Bayless as a pundit has made a career out of sticking to his opinions even if they don’t necessarily make sense or age well, the best example being his continued dislike of LeBron James, something he often goes to absurd lengths to justify.
However wrong he may or may not be with his views, not even Skip deserves the amount of hate that’s sent his way. And perhaps his most prominent hater is Charles Barkley, who has often called him out on various platforms. Chuck is also known for not having much of a filter and he has suggested various times that he would like to hurt, and even kill Skip for who he is.
Bayless finally addressed Barkley’s various shots over the year recently, wondering why exactly Chuck hates him to that extent and even suggesting that the NBA legend is a little jealous of Skip. But another point he brought up was the effect Barkley’s threats have had on his wife Ernestine Sclafani, explaining that she has lost sleep over the thought of what the threats might mean for Skip’s safety.
“My wife, Ernestine, has believed for 15 years that Charles Barkley is nothing but a sick individual. [She believes] That to her he is just pure evil. That he is depraved. That he is a scumbag. And she believes or fears that one day Charles will somehow, maybe unwittingly or maybe wittingly, inspire some other nut to end my life.”
“And this haunts her. This hurts her because she believes that in the end, Charles Barkley would have my blood on his hands. And if that were Charles’s goal from the start, if that was his goal, then I congratulate him because he wins on this one. He has hurt my wife deeply, and she has lost much sleep over this.”
Skip went on to explain that he had tried getting Barkley to reduce his usage of the term ‘kill’ while talking about him but went on to suggest that it only made the situation worse.
“I said look I don’t care about any of the other criticism he can rip, he can slash, he can say whatever he wants. Just for Ernestine’s sake could he please stop using the k-word, please no more kill.”
“I warned her this will probably just fuel his fire, and I was right about that because after the request was made by John Wildhack to David Levy, it seemed to my ear that Charles only intensified his use of the k-word when talking about me.”
While it’s obvious that Barkley himself wouldn’t actually hurt Skip Bayless, the concern from a family member is understandable considering the amount of influence Chuck’s platform has. There is some irony here considering that Bayless himself is often bashed for insulting athletes by being over the top, but threats of physical harm might be a bit much and it remains to be seen how Barkley addresses what Skip has said.
