As Barkley remembers it, Cousins complained to referees incessantly, fouled out and picked up a couple of technical fouls in the process. He acknowledges that when Cousins was in high school, he went down to see him in a state playoff game. So, yes, every time we see each other, there will never be words." Barkley wishes he understood why Cousins holds such a grudge against him. Mention that Barkley doesn't believe the cold shoulder is merited, and Cousins responds as if Barkley is standing directly in front of him: "I have no respect for you and I never will. That is how Cousins views Barkley, and it's why, in spite of playing for him on All-Star Weekend in the Rising Stars Challenge, sharing a dais in Sacramento with him for their mutual friend, Mayor Kevin Johnson, and spending a week together in Spain this summer, he refuses to acknowledge Barkley's presence. There is coming to terms with the way your new world operates, but then there's feeling undermined in it by someone who came from the exact world you did. A trip back in time from a Bleacher Report profile: Which leads us to Barkley. Cousins and Barkley are iconic in what they stood for when they played, but they're also human beings, and to link them intrinsically without context isn't fair.Įspecially since Cousins holds such dislike in his heart for Barkley. There are similarities, but the comparison deserves more nuance than those descriptions above. Oh, and from the great state of Alabama.Ĭharles Barkley.