‘And if Charles had left? You’d still have me’: Shaq would’ve supported Charles Barkley if he went to commentate LIV Golf
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are one of the more popular duos on television. Hosts of ‘Inside the NBA’ on TNT, the NBA Hall of Famers have developed a great camaraderie on one of the NBA’s premier pre- and postgame shows.
Yet Barkley almost ended his basketball commentating foray to get into the world of golf.
Rumors swirled for a few weeks about Barkley’s interest in joining LIV Golf as another commentator on its broadcasts, which don’t have a TV sponsor and air on YouTube. Last week at the third LIV Golf event at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey, Barkley played in the pro-am, and he told Golfweek he hadn’t received an offer by the time he finished play.
David Feherty announced following the 150th Open Championship he was joining LIV Golf as a broadcaster, and Barkley would’ve added another colorful, bombastic voice to the broadcast. Yet it would take away from what has become a great pair between O’Neal and Barkley.
So, did Shaq try and talk Sir Charles out of it?
“No. Charles is a dear friend. I would’ve supported him every which way,” O’Neal said in an interview with USA Today. “Charles is one of those legends, like Bill Russell, that didn’t make a lot of money playing. So if a chance comes up like this at this age that’s legal – controversial but legal – you gotta look at it. If he had accepted it, I wouldn’t be mad.
“And if Charles had left? You’d still have me.”
