Twenty-two years ago, Scottie Pippen declared that Charles Barkley “can never expect an apology from me” during the first of many rounds of verbal beef between the one-time Houston Rockets teammates. He’s staying true to that promise.
The latest round of beef between the six-time NBA Champion and Barkley began this June, when Pippen made remarks questioning Barkley’s toughness.
“I’ll tell you what: He only got arrested for throwing some little white guys out of a window. I ain’t never seen him fight a Black man unless there were referees around,” Pippen told GQ.
Barkley defended himself on Wednesday afternoon during an appearance on the“Waddle & Silvy” show.
“I’m damn sure tougher than Scottie Pippen,” Barkley said of his fellow Hall of Famer. “I don’t walk around saying I’m Billy Badass, but I can promise you one thing — I’m tougher than Scottie Pippen, let me put that to rest right now.
“I’m not no fake tough guy, I don’t pretend to be a tough guy but I am tougher than Scottie Pippen.”
The feud between the two former NBA superstars originally ignited after their single season as teammates on the 1998-1999 Houston Rockets. During a 1999 interview on ESPN’s “Up Close,” Barkley slammed Pippen, expressing his disappointment with his former teammate.
“For him to want to leave after one year, it disappointed me greatly,” Barkley said of Pippen, who was traded from Houston to Portland.
“The Rockets went out of their way to get Scottie and the fans have treated him well, so I was just disappointed in him.”
Pippen responded by blaming his departure on Barkley’s selfishness and lack of desire to win saying, “I wouldn’t give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint. He can never expect an apology from me. If anything, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his fat butt.”