Skip Bayless responds to years of criticism from Charles Barkley

Skip Bayless is finally responding to Charles Barkley.

In recent years, Barkley — a former NBA MVP and Basketball Hall of Famer — has lashed out at Bayless in the media, and he continued to express his disdain for the FOX Sports host in a recent appearance on Draymond Green’s podcast, "The Draymond Green Show."

Barkley called Bayless a "jackass" and also said he hates Bayless "more than life itself," mainly because of Bayless’ criticism of both LeBron James and Aaron Rodgers. 

Now, after years of criticism, Bayless is setting the record straight on his apparent feud with Barkley on his own podcast, "The Skip Bayless Show." 

And according to Bayless, he’s dumbfounded as to why Barkley holds him in such low regard.

"This 15-year onslaught has amazed me, it has amused me, but it has always confounded me because for the life of me, I have no idea why exactly Charles wants to [hurt] me. … I don’t know Charles Barkley. I’ve never had a single conversation with Charles Barkley."

Despite Barkley’s issues with him, Bayless said he has been and will remain a fan of Barkley’s on-TV personality, and pointed to one thing the two have in common: their objectivity when it comes to James.

"As God as my witness, I do not hate LeBron James, Charles Barkley. … But I have tried to tell the truth about LeBron as I see it. … The irony of all this is that Charles Barkley, to me, has been the one guy on TV who has, every once in a while, had the guts to criticize LeBron James when it is merited."

Bayless then pointed out that while Barkley is quick to take issue with Bayless being critical of James, Green — whose podcast Barkley joined recently — disrespected James to the utmost degree during the 2016 NBA Finals.

"Draymond also took a shot at me concerning my criticism of LeBron. Well, wait a second — what was the turning point of the 2016 Finals? When Golden State was up 3-1? What happened in Game 4, Draymond? You got mad at LeBron, you screamed at him and called him a ‘b----.’

"In the competitive world, man-to-man, you can’t really degrade a man much more than to call him a ‘b----.’’

Bayless also responded to Barkley’s stance that Bayless is too critical of Rodgers, positing he has been proven correct about Rodgers after convincing Shannon Sharpe to acknowledge Rodgers’ postseason struggles.

"I have said for years that Aaron Rodgers is the most over-hyped player in NFL history. I was first to market with this. … Slowly but surely, I’m pretty sure I’ve been proven right because my debate partner Shannon Sharpe has come completely around from the biggest Aaron Rodgers fan to an even bigger detractor and critic than I am."

In the end, Bayless delivered his theory as to why Barkley appears to not be a fan, saying if the two were ever to cross paths, Barkley would more than likely grow to like Bayless because he actually enjoys Bayless’ opinions.

"This is just me, but I suspect that Charles is just jealous of me. I suspect that he watches me nearly every day on TV, and the things I say piss him off because in the end, he wishes he had thought of that and that he could say that on TV.

"Deep down, I have this feeling that Charles is afraid to ever try to get to know me because he’s afraid he just might like me."

You can watch the "The Skip Bayless Show" on YouTube or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.