Charles Barkley joked that he was 'hoping to get fired' as a golf commentator after making a passionate plea for the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to merge.
The NBA legend was running the rule over The Showdown, a brand new event featuring four of the world's biggest stars, on TNT Sports. Billed as a grudge match between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, it featured two players from each faction.
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler prevailed in the end, beating the LIV Golf duo of Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
The event took place amid the backdrop of ongoing talks between the two entities regarding a possible merger, which could bring an end to the so-called 'civil war' in golf.
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While on commentary duties, Barkley made it clear that he thought a resolution would benefit players on both sides of the divide. He also suggested that players signed to LIV Golf were being disadvantaged by things 'behind the scenes'.
Barkley went on to voice his opposition to the PGA Tour's plan to reduce field sizes, an upcoming change which has sparked no shortage of controversy, before joking that he was 'hoping to get fired' for his comments.
"I just don't think it's fair," he said. "I think the LIV guys have gotten a bad rap. They are all free agents and there is nothing wrong with taking money, but they need to merge.
"There's some stuff going on behind the scenes [which is] not right and not fair to the LIV guys. The top 100 to 125 guys on tour, they are getting screwed too because they are lowering the field to 100.
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"That's only going to help the best players and the richest guys, so don't get mad if other guys are taking money. Do the right thing for the game. I can say what I want to because I ain't worried about getting fired. I'm hoping to get fired!"
The Showdown had been widely interpreted as a sign of thawing relations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, with talks over a potential merger still ongoing.
Discussions have been taking place for more than a year but a resolution is yet to be found. PGA Tour bosses are still negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia over a reported acquisition of six per cent of the tour's commercial arm.
Only time will tell if a compromise will eventually be reached, with Bloomberg reporting last week that a peace deal was finally nearing completion.
