Among the many moments of All-Star weekend, Michael Jordan’s awkward “encounter” with Charles Barkley is starting to pick up some steam.
As Jordan was exchanging pleasantries with some of his peers, he passed right by the former basketball star without saying a single word. In a video that has been posted online, you can see MJ quickly glance over to Barkley before walking off like he wasn’t even there.
— sportsvids99 (@sportsvids991) February 21, 2022
It’s entirely possible people are reading too much into this, but the beef between MJ and Chuck are well-known. Once friends, things appear to have gone sour when Barkley openly criticized Jordan’s management of the Charlotte Hornets during a broadcast.
The two are apparently no longer on speaking terms.
“He’s not close with Michael (Jordan) no more,” said Charles Oakley. “I don’t know who he’s really on (good) terms with now. So I know he wants to come to the cookout and play 18 holes with us. But we’re not inviting him no more. He’s out. You act up, you go stand in the corner with one leg in the air …. That’s Charles, in the corner of the playground by himself. You can see him, because he’s kind of big.”
“He can never get back in (Jordan’s inner circle). No matter what he do. He do jumping jack, push-ups, he can’t get back in the family, he out,” said Oakley in a seperate interview. “He crossed the line, he crossed three lines, and he got a ticket for every line he crossed. He found some new friends. I guess on TNT and subway and safeway. He looking. But he outside he catching the train. He going to the mall. He’s looking for friends right now.”
It looks like MJ has still not gotten over Barkley’s comments, and it’s a real shame. On one hand, Chuck was just doing his job as an analyst and it wasn’t meant to be taken personally. On the other hand, Barkley called out an old friend on television instead of having a private conversation first.
It’s easy to see the situation from both sides. Regardless, fans are hoping for some reconciliation between the pair.
