No stranger to criticism himself, Charles Barkley often comes to the defense of those he feels are unfairly criticized, or he piles on. It depends on who the person is that’s being criticized. But in the case of Bill Belichick, “Chuck” has seemingly heard enough from the talking heads when it comes to the New England Patriots head coach.
Making a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Barkley took offense to any suggestion that Belichick would be on the hot seat entering his fourth season in the post-Tom Brady era. “You guys gotta stop treating my guy Belichick bad,” Barkley told Simmons.
Simmons, seemingly taking offense to being looped into the conversation, responded: “Who’s you guys? What do you mean? I love Belichick!”
“I love Belichick. I consider him a good friend,” Barkley continued. “I’m so disgusted with some of these punk ass guys on television talking about Bill being on the hot seat and things like that.”
Simmons suggested that Belichick was not on the hot seat, stating “That’s not happening.”
“It shouldn’t even be close to the hot seat,” Barkley added.
In a surprise turn of events, Simmons declared that he had his beloved New England Patriots making the playoffs this season. Simmons, who is of the belief that the Patriots will be “good,” is also of the belief that the New York Jets won’t be as good this season. To no one’s surprise, the most recognizable Boston Sports fan in sports media is fading their hype.
Barkley agreed that the Patriots are a playoff team, but that probably has more to do with him being a Belichick guy than waving the New England pom poms.
[The Bill Simmons Podcast via On3]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.