After the way the Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor night went, it was bound to come up on Inside the NBA. Charles Barkley was inevitably the one who brought it up. The Chuckster was utterly disappointed in the United Center fans and the no-shows of the night. ICYMI, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman skipped the event. But it was Thelma Krause’s tears after her husband, the late GM Jerry Krause, was booed that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.

“What those fans did to Mrs. Krause,” Barkley said after ranting about MJ, Pippen, and Rodman snubbing the event. “That was not cool. We… everybody owe that old lady an apology. Whether you like Jerry Krause or not, that man’s dead – Rest in peace – his wife’s there and y’all made that lady cry and that was total BS.” 

Some spectators in the United Center audibly booed when Jerry Krause was announced. It contrasted the cheers Phil Jackson or Jerry Reinsdorf got beside the players. As Krause passed away in 2017, his widow was there to receive the honor on his behalf. His family was present in the arena too. The jeers reduced Thelma to tears and earned the ire of the NBA community.

Stacey King, DeMar DeRozan, Steve Kerr, Reinsdorf, and many more slammed the atrocious behavior. Seeing how much it saddened the Krause family, “That hurt my heart watching that thing,” Barkley said. His TNT colleagues also reflected his feelings.

When he started, he said he loved Chicago and the Bulls have been a great organization in his opinion, but, “It was a complete disgrace to the legacy of the Chicago Bulls…” And he’s also placing some of the onus on the missing pieces.

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Charles Barkley’s disappointed in old friends

During halftime, the Bulls aired visuals of the 13 honorees for its inaugural Ring of Honor. Barkley commented, “First of all, I don’t even know why you’d put a hundred guys in a Ring of Honor anyway. That’s just stupid.” It even made Shaquille O’Neal chuckle on the side.

“Michael, and Scottie, and Dennis not showing up, that was wrong.” Before the event, Barkley was sure Jordan would attend and Pippen would skip due to the awkwardness he’s created with their feud. But only Rodman cited bad weather that impeded his genuine effort to travel to Chicago.

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Chuck had a falling out with MJ, though he still holds him in high regard. He’s not gotten along with Pippen since they were teammates in Houston. That doesn’t color his opinions when he’s being honest. “Not to have the great player in the organization there, won six championships…” was unforgivable to Barkley.

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TNT viewers were appreciative that Barkley denounced the Ring of Honor incidents. Apart from the Krause incident, do you agree with his take on the missing players?