An HBCU baseball legend was the unlikely mediator to end a decade-long feud between Basketball Hall of Famers.
During an ESPN Chicago radio appearance, Charles Barkley credited former Florida A&M standout Vince Coleman for ending his near-15-year feud with his one-time best friend, Michael Jordan.
“I was just chilling at the house last week and one of my good friends is Vince Coleman, the great baseball player,” Barkley said. “He says, ‘Yo, I’m down here at The Grove. I’m sick of you and MJ’s BS. He’s right here. Y’all need to talk.’ And we had a conversation, but Vince Coleman’s the person who’s responsible. We talked for a couple minutes. He said, ‘Man, let’s get together and play golf.’ And as soon as I get a break, we’re gonna fly down there and spend a couple days playing golf.”
Barkley and Jordan fell out in 2012 following some comments Barkley made about Jordan’s time as owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
Before ending one of the biggest feuds in sports, Coleman had quite a career as an athlete. Beginning at Florida A&M, he kicked the game-winning field goal as the Rattler football team defeated Miami (FL) at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium during the 1979 season.
On the baseball field, he set a school record with seven stolen bases in one game and 65 during the 1981 season.
Coleman went on to play 13 seasons in the major leagues, earning the 1985 National League Rookie of the Year award with the St. Louis Cardinals. His 752 career stolen bases rank him sixth all-time in Major League Baseball history.
Coleman is also a part of the Florida A&M Athletics Hall of Fame.
