Charles Barkley never liked watching Skip Bayless, but he's sorry the former ESPN and FS1 host is no longer on TV.

Barkley joined The Dan Patrick Show Friday morning to discuss the first few weeks of the NBA season. During the segment, Patrick discussed his issue with winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, which opened the door for Barkley to rant about one of his favorite topics: “Those idiots on ESPN.”


“Since you talk about Pet Peeves every year, those idiots on ESPN,” Barkley began before Patrick interrupted.

“Why do you keep looking?” asked Patrick, laughing. “I keep telling you… Skip Bayless is gone, so you don’t have to worry about him!”

“Yeah, I kind of feel bad for the guy,” Barkley said of Bayless. “I didn't like the guy, but I feel bad. I feel bad. I don’t want bad things to happen to other people.”

Bayless and FS1 split earlier this summer after eight years together. This ended a nearly two-decade-long appearance on daily television for Bayless. But Barkley shouldn't feel bad. While it certainly seemed like FS1 was moving away from Bayless, Bayless claims he has decided to step away from television. Bayless saw his audience begin to disappear on FS1 in recent years, and that made the 72-year-old believe his future lay in the digital space.

Barkley and Bayless have been at odds for decades. Bayless believes their feud stems from the time he coached Barkley at a celebrity basketball game. Whatever the reason, it led Barkley to claim that he would like to kill Bayless during an interview with The Washington Post in 2005. Barkley has repeatedly insulted Bayless over the years, repeatedly emphasizing how much he hates the polarizing sports personality. Yet here we are, and Barkley almost seems stunned that Bayless is no longer on TV.

(The Dan Patrick Show)