Charles Barkley Says ESPN Won't Change Him, Dares Company To Try And Fire Him

With the "NBA on TNT" crew moving to ESPN, one of the big questions that surrounds the move is whether ESPN might try to tamp down the larger-than-life personalities of Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. Both are known for being outspoken, particularly Barkley.

After all, Barkley has spoken out against men in women's sports, has interviewed with OutKick founder Clay Travis (generally a big no-no for ESPN employees), and has called Democrats "stupid." Clearly, none of those things sit well with ESPN, a company that prides itself on pushing left-wing talking points. 

Not only that, but Barkley has been critical of ESPN in the past, including calling Kendrick Perkins, a fellow ESPN NBA analyst, "an idiot and a fool." In that same rant, he slammed ESPN for "always talking about the same stuff" — namely, the network's obsession with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Basketball legend Charles Barkley joined OutKick's "Don't @ Me" with Dan Dakich and talked about his upcoming transition from TNT to ESPN to continue his NBA commentary career.

(Imagn Images & Getty Images)

However, Barkley joined OutKick's Dan Dakich on Thursday and made it clear that he's not going to change anything when he ultimately starts broadcasting on ESPN airwaves. 

"I'm going to do what I want to do, nobody is going to tell me what to say," Barkley told Dakich. He then doubled down on his criticism of Perkins, saying he "doesn't know his ass from a hole in the wall" before saying that ESPN won't fire him, no matter what he says. 

"I make too much money to get fired… if they fire me, they've got to pay me for seven more years, and I'm going to quit way before then," Barkley added. "If they want to fire me, I would love for them to do that." 

Barkley clarified his comments about quitting before his seven-year contract runs out, saying he plans to work for two or three more years in the media before riding off into the retirement sunset. 

"If I really wanted to, I could stay for seven years, [but] there's no chance of that happening. Zero. Zero," Barkley reiterated. "I'm making a decision of whether I'm going to stay for two years or for three years, but more likely two years." 

And, if it wasn't clear before, Barkley made sure to remind everyone that ESPN wouldn't control him. 

"Nobody at ESPN is going to tell me what to say or do. Period," Barkley concluded. 

Fear not, those who worried that a move to ESPN might change Charles Barkley. It won't.