Credit: ESPN
By Matt Yoder on

There is maybe no more iconic feud in sports media than Charles Barkley versus the city of San Antonio. And with the Spurs back in the NBA Finals for the first time in over a decade, Sir Charles had to come face-to-face with the ghosts of his past.

Barkley’s insults about San Antonio, specifically the women of the city, date back to the preteen days of Victor Wembanyama. In fact, the earliest insult from Barkley on Inside the NBA came from 2010 when he said of the city, “They ain’t got no skinny women down there.”

However, he even admitted that he went too far in 2025 when he was broadcasting the Final Four in San Antonio for CBS and TNT Sports when he used a profanity on air.

On ESPN’s pregame show before Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the Spurs hosting the New York Knicks, the Inside the NBA crew played a montage of Barkley’s comments about the Alamo City before he was paid a visit on set by San Antonio mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.

“I learned a long time ago- you can’t teach courage; you can’t teach class. And Mr. Barkley reminds us of that,” Ortiz said in her greeting message to Charles Barkley.

Barkley took the comment in stride. He complimented the city and said the people were wonderful and that his digs over the years were all just jokes. She then showed some hospitality by offering him what else but a box of churros. And of course, even though he’s been on a continual weight loss journey, Barkley couldn’t resist biting into one of them immediately.

Hopefully it’s all now water under the riverwalk bridge nowadays. Besides, Charles Barkley needs to get used to making visits to San Antonio in the years to come with Victor Wembanyama and company looking like the NBA’s next great dynasty.

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