We now have a strong candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. 14 years of silent feud fixed in a single expletive-laced sentence is worth the entire gratitude of the NBA world. Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan are friends once more, pending a long overdue golf date. The credit for fixing the most high-profile factures in sports goes to no one in the basketball business. The reconciliation, which has been the subject of intense speculation for years, did not come from a formal sit-down or a PR-managed event, but rather through the blunt intervention of St. Louis Cardinals legend and Hall of Fame base-stealer Vince Coleman.

Barkley revealed on Waddle and Silvy that the breakthrough occurred just last week while he was “chilling at the house.” The catalyst was a phone call from his old friend, Vince Coleman, who happens to be a prominent fixture in the Barkley-Jordan social venn diagram. Their love for golf outside their primary sports brought them together. Chuck and Coleman also participated in the American Century Championship a decade ago.

Coleman happened to be at Jordan’s exclusive Florida golf club, The Grove XXIII last week. According to Barkley, the conversation began with the usual ribbing between old friends before Coleman took a serious turn. “I’m down here at The Grove,” the Cardinals titan told his friend and then said the quiet part out loud. “I’m sick of you and MJ’s BS.” So were we, Vincent Van Go.

Coleman took advantage of the opportunity and fixed the cold war right there. He told Chuck, “He’s [Jordan] right here. Y’all need to talk,” and put MJ on the call. The two icons then spent a few minutes on the phone, moving past the stubbornness that had kept them apart since Charles Barkley’s 2012 critiques of Jordan’s management of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets.

Despite the NBA world saying they need to have a proper sitdown, Coleman brokered peace in a small phonecall over a casual golf outing. Apparently, even the old camaraderie kicked in between Chuck and MJ who didn’t need much to bury the hatchet. “‘Let’s get together and play golf,'” Chuck apparently told his old bestie. “And as soon as I get a break, I’m going to fly down there and we’re going to spend a couple days playing golf.”

Chuck really needs his schedule to open up for that. Since Inside the NBA moved to ESPN, the chances of the Inside Guys on the playoffs and finals coverage is higher. Never have we looked forward to the end of the NBA season more.

Charles Barkley revealed the real reason behind rift with Michael Jordan

The significance of this golf date extends beyond a simple phone call. The best brotherhood that defined the NBA’s golden era is back by Vince Coleman’s nonchalant mediation. While revealing how it happened, Barkley was candid about the emotional toll the silence took on both him and Michael Jordan, admitting that their ego stood in the way before Vince squashed it.

“I think honestly I think we both missed each other because we’ve had this conversation with other friends and we were both too stubborn to pick up the phone,” Barkley admitted, sort of confirming why Vince knew that both of them wanted to reconcile. Coleman’s intervention effectively cut through the pride that had paralyzed the relationship. “Vince said, this thing has been silly and stupid, but both of y’all too damn stubborn to pick up the phone and y’all need to get y’all asses together and play golf and bury this thing,” Barkley recounted.

Despite the years of “chill in the air,” Barkley is confident that their upcoming golf date will feel like no time has passed. He dismissed comparisons to more volatile public feuds, once again dragging the British princes in the mix. “It’s not like we’re like Prince Harry and Prince William who hate each other. I’m not one of those guys, like, I ain’t trying to prove no point or I ain’t got no animosity.”

The reunion is set to take place on the links as soon as Barkley’s broadcasting schedule allows him to fly down to Florida where The Grove XXIII is. Interestingly, the Grove didn’t open until 2019. So we’ve not seen Chuckster at the most prestigious celebrity golf course yet even though he’s had exclusive invites to Augusta.

While Jordan is notoriously competitive on the course, Barkley expects the atmosphere to be defined by “lot of love” they expressed during their brief call. The urgency of the reconciliation wasn’t lost on the 63-year-old Barkley, who ended the segment with a sobering reminder of their mortality. When a host mentioned that neither legend is getting any younger, Barkley quipped with his trademark dark wit: “Unfortunately, we’re not. We’re closer to death than we are alive.”

With the “BS” officially out of the way, two of the greatest to ever play the game are finally ready to spend their remaining years as they started: as friends. And Mr. Coleman, you have our gratitude.