NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley used to be good friends with Tiger Woods. But their relationship was a victim of the fallout from Woods’s 2009 sex scandal.
That much has been known for a long time. But in a new interview with Richard Deitsch for The Athletic, Barkley reveals just how abruptly that friendship ended and claims that the two have not spoken since the day after Woods’s car crash on Thanksgiving night 2009.
In the interview, Deitsch asked Barkley if he had talked to Woods in the past year, to which Barkley replied, “I have not talked to him since the day after the accident,” referring to Thanksgiving 2009.
Barkley also acknowledged that he misses their friendship and noted his disappointment that Woods did not seek help from the NBA star during the trying times Woods has faced over the past several years.
“I miss the part where I could be there when things were bad. A lot of things happened to him after that. I think I am a good friend when things are not going good.”
But would Barkley ever try to contact Woods and rebuild their friendship? The answer to that, as Barkley told Deitsch, is a definite no.
“He would have to reach out to me. He didn’t just break off the relationship – he just never called again (Laughs).”
You can read the full interview with Charles Barkley at The Athletic.