Tom Brady and Charles Barkley seem to have a friendly relationship — except for when it comes to golf. Over the last year, that’s where they’ve gotten contentious. Playful. But contentious.
As Brady prepares for The Match, an exhibition golf match with celebrity pairings (Brady and Phil Mickelson vs. Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has faced jabs from Barkley. And it goes all the way to last year’s version of The Match when Brady had a mixed performance with more embarrassing moments than brilliant ones. Brady admitted that he took it personally when Barkley, who, at one point, had a truly … unique swing, went after the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Here’s what Brady told Golf Digest:
“I hope he starts talking trash on the practice range, because that definitely lit a fire under me. Any time your golf swing gets insulted by Charles, you gotta take that to heart. I had a lot of insults, that was probably one of the worst insults I could imagine: Charles Barkley insulting my golf swing.”
By saying Barkley’s insults are “the worst,” he is clearly taking a dig at the fact that the Basketball Hall of Famer is still a work in progress on the course. As for Barkley, he had fighting words for Brady during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” Barkley seems to be tired of analyzing the match. He wants to play.
“I’m just disgusted by Phil Mickelson. I cannot believe that he want to play with this mother instead of me. … Me and Phil were the defending champs, but I can’t believe he gonna stick with this mother — I can’t say what Tom said (on The Shop) — but I can’t believe he want to stick with this mother instead of me.”
“He’s a really nice person; he’s a really nice person,” Barkley said. “I think he’s the greatest athlete arguably ever; I do, I truly believe that. He’s clearly the greatest football player ever, but I think he’s in the conversation with [Muhammad] Ali, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky. Those are the greatest ever; that’s just my personal opinion. … I like to bash him because he got a great sense of humor, but I don’t think Tom can beat me in golf. I really don’t. Not right now he can’t.”
Barkley revamped his swing. But Brady sounds like he’s been working hard on his game in preparation for The Match. Maybe we need another exhibition match to settle this.
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