‘The ‘Inside the NBA’ crew is famous for its unfiltered commentary, but Charles Barkley nearly took it a step too far during a recent rant. The Chuckster has never been one to bite his tongue, but even he almost crossed a line that would have had network executives scrambling. It forced his veteran co-host Ernie Johnson to play the role of a quick-thinking censor.

Sir Charles was about to drop the F-Bomb during the heated rant. But he didn’t. “Can I look at this camera right here? Yes. Okay,” said Barkley. “There are some fools at home. Well, on the internet. They’re at home now. Saying that we were talking bad about the players, so they (ESPN) made us work less. Shut the hell up. Shut the hell up.” Before saying hell, he was about to say the f-word, and paused to avoid saying that word. His co-host and best friend, Ernie Johnson, appreciated the swerve, as Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith couldn’t stop laughing.

“Nice catch, by the way,” said Johnson. Inside the NBA has won 21 Emmys, and it has been on the back of the crew stating their blunt opinions. Charles Barkley has been doing this show for 25 years; he clearly knows that any obscene language is a big no-no on television. He did not drop the f-word on this occasion, but stated his opinion very clearly and allegedly towards Colin Cowherd.

The backdrop is the rocky 2025–26 transition of Inside the NBA from TNT to ESPN and ABC under an 11-year deal. Yes, TNT Sports in Atlanta is still producing the show, but there has been a scheduling shift. After decades as a weekly ritual, Inside the NBA has appeared only a handful of times in the first half of the season. Cowherd knew the apparent reason.

“ESPN buried that show,” Cowherd said on his FS1 and Fox Sports Radio show. “ESPN has a great relationship with the NBA, and they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll bring that show over. You won’t see it as much.’ Put it on the shelf a little bit. Charles is complaining; it feels obvious to me. David Stern (former NBA commissioner) didn’t like when people were critical of the NBA either. They’re very sensitive in the NBA.”

Last week, Charles Barkley said on The Dan Le Batard Show that Inside the NBA’s transition from TNT to ESPN “has been great.” However, he did complain about having too light a workload in the new arrangement, after spending more than a year warning ESPN not to work him too hard. So, Chuck shut down the narrative about ESPN forcefully shelving the show.

This was already scheduled,” he said, pushing back on conspiracy theories. “These fools on the internet talking about we got punished, or we talk bad about the players so they made us work less. Shut the hell up. This was already planned.” While he may have a gripe with the network, he won’t let any false narrative dominate the headlines.

Charles Barkley is ready for not so lighter schedule

The issue that Chuck raised on The Dan Le Batard Show was simple. From being on TV weekly, the crew on the ESPN appeared just 4 times since the start of the season. “We’ve complained,” Barkley said. “We’ve only been on ESPN four times in three months. We did like the first two weeks, we were off all of December until Christmas, and we’re off all of January until now. I don’t like that at all.”

Cowherd used this statement against ESPN’s agenda of not allowing Inside the NBA on air. But Barkley clarified that ESPN intentionally back-loaded the schedule, and after a quiet start, the show is set for a more consistent run of episodes leading into nightly coverage for the playoffs and Finals. The show returned on Saturday, January 24, with additional January dates already locked in. From that point forward, 15 episodes are planned through the end of the regular season. By stacking Inside the NBA around the playoffs, ESPN maximizes audience attention during the most meaningful stretch of the season.

But that doesn’t mean Charles Barkley was not asking for nonstop airtime. In fact, he joked that he had no interest in being “on ESPN One, Two, Three, Deportes, Nacho, Echo, whatever they call it.” What frustrated him was the absence of balance.

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