Craig Carton once came extremely close to throwing hands with New York Post journalist Phil Mushnick before he was held back, and the way he recounted the past incident recently, it appears their conflict is far from settled. The WFAN host recently recalled the incident of attending a gambling recovery-themed event from June 2024, which was also attended by Phil.

“So, I’m walking in, and I was gonna punch him in the face,” said Carton on the recent episode of The Carton Show. “And had to be separated from him because I didn’t think he belonged in that room. And not only does he go to the room anyway, and I told him he did not belong in that room, it was wrong for him to be there… and he sat in that room with an evil smirk on his ugly, fat face.”

Carton was invited as the guest and speaker at a banquet honoring Arnie Wexler, who was renowned as a gambling addiction counselor, personally helping the 57-year-old to recover from his addiction. But when he walked into the event, he immediately saw Phil, who, as per Carton, did not support the cause. Hence, his presence in that room felt like an insult to the former Fox Sports host, which further escalated his reaction.

Moreover, Carton was deeply resentful of his presence because he believed he made no effort to help him during the addiction phase, even though he had his contact and phone number. He called Phil “hateful’ and “small-minded for criticizing the issue.

“I had a real problem that he was at the event. Because he’s not a guy that supports recovery,” Carton added. “He’s not a guy that feels for you when you succumb to an addiction; he has gone after me because I’m an addict. And I found it very offensive that he would now show up to an event that I’m the keynote speaker at to honor someone who’s a part of my personal recovery.”

Carton has been open about his own battle with addiction and has spent the years since his 2020 prison release working to raise awareness and support others facing the same struggle. Speaking later on WFAN, Carton said seeing Mushnick there deeply upset him, given their long history of criticism and tension. According to Carton, the columnist never reached out privately to discuss his recovery, even though he had his contact information.

While the duo certainly had bad blood, he faced many personal challenges while he was dealing with addiction.

Phil Mushnick called Craig Carton’s recovery a scam, but reality showed a different story

Carton said Mushnick later wrote a column questioning the sincerity of that recovery after Carton casually referenced a point spread while discussing sports on television. The situation left Carton frustrated and hurt, especially because the event itself was meant to celebrate recovery and the people who dedicate their lives to helping others rebuild after addiction.

“A week or two later, he wrote a column attacking me, suggesting my recovery was a scam. I never said a word about it publicly until right now in this moment, but it bothered me to the core… That’s the type of scumbag this guy is. And I don’t wish bad things on anybody, I don’t. But if I woke up tomorrow and Phil Mushnick wasn’t on this planet, that would be a better day for the planet. Because he’s an awful, hateful, despicable, angry, small-minded douchebag who does not deserve to breathe the same air that the rest of us breathe.”

The move appeared to be rage bait from the NY reporter because his improved life story showed a different reality. Having dealt with and recovered from a gambling addiction, Craig Carton has been vocal about the issue, promoting awareness in most of his WFAN episodes. While he had suffered from it for over a decade, it took a toll on his career and life in 2017.

The TV personality was arrested based on wire and securities fraud, costing investors millions of dollars to pay off his humongous debt from the gambling. He was given a jail sentence of three and a half years in April 2019, even though he was set free in mid-2020.

However, his last gambling session reportedly took place in June 2018, and the 57-year-old has been reportedly sober for almost eight years now. Shortly after his release from prison, he rebuilt his career, rejoining WFAN and currently excelling in his career.