Charles Barkley Middle Finger Video: Barkley Flips Bird on TNT

Charles Barkley Flipped The Bird Live on TNT Thursday night. Was the Charles Barkley Middle Finger Innocent Fun Or Did Sir Charles Cross the Line?

Charles Barkley seemed to have a bit of an on-air mishap during the April 1 TNT broadcast, but it doesn't appear to have been an April Fools Day joke. Charles Barkley flipped the bird as he was chatting with co-hosts Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith.

Why Did Charles Barkley Flip the Bird?

The Charles Barkley middle finger incident occurred as he was chatting about Kobe Bryant's recent finger injury. In a video clip, Bryant showed how his finger was bent out of shape. Barkley responded by saying that just about every NBA player has a bent finger like Bryant.

Barkley said, "my fingers ain't ever been straight." When Johnson asked him to show his bent fingers on camera, Barkley held up his middle finger to show banged up it was. After he flipped the bird on national TV, Barkley lowered his hand, saying "Oh, sorry."

Johnson responded, "I should have seen that one coming."

Barkley's Non-Apology

After the Charles Barkley middle finger, Ernie Johnson tried to recover, but Barkley wasn't having it.

Johnson: “Do me a favor and say April Fools for what you just did. That you were trying to be funny?”
Barkley: “For who?”

Considering some of his other transgressions, the Charles Barkley Middle Finger video is pretty much par for the course. Back in the day, Barkley intentionally called one of his producers a "p---y" on live TV. Earlier in the season, Barkley appeared white makeup on air to appear more like former MLB slugger Sammy Sosa.

Here is the Charles Barkley Middle Finger Video