We have a viable candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize! 14 years of silent feud, summed up in a single expletive-laced sentence, deserves the hoops world’s gratitude. Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan have rekindled their friendship and are planning a long-awaited golf outing. Yes, you read that correctly. Their reconciliation, which had been the subject of speculation for years, came about through the blunt intervention of a St. Louis Cardinals legend and Hall of Fame base stealer, rather than a formal sit-down or a public relations-managed event.

Barkley revealed that the breakthrough occurred just last week while he was “chilling at the house.” The catalyst was a phone call from his old friend, Vince Coleman, who is a prominent fixture in the Barkley-Jordan social Venn diagram. Their love of golf, outside their primary sports, brought them together. Chuck and Coleman also participated in the American Century Championship a decade ago.

So, Coleman happened to be at Jordan’s exclusive Florida golf club, The Grove XXIII, last week. According to Barkley, the conversation began with the usual ribbing between old friends before Coleman took a serious turn. “‘I’m down here at The Grove,'” Chuck narrated on Waddle & Silvy. “‘I’m sick of you and MJ’s BS.'” So were we, Vincent Van Go… He took advantage of the opportunity and fixed the Cold War right there.

“He’s [Jordan] right here, y’all need to talk,” Barkley recalled Coleman putting MJ on the call. The two NBA icons then spent a few minutes on the phone, moving past the stubbornness that had kept them apart since Charles Barkley‘s 2012 critiques of Jordan’s management of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets.

Then, apparently, even the old camaraderie kicked in between Chuck and MJ, who didn’t need much to bury the hatchet. “‘Let’s get together and play golf,'” Chuck told his old pal. “And as soon as I get a break, I’m going to fly down there, and we’re going to spend a couple of days playing golf.”

Now, Barkley really needs his schedule to open up for that. Since Inside the NBA moved to ESPN, the chances of the Inside Guys being on the playoffs and finals coverage are higher. But honestly, we’ve never looked forward to the end of the NBA season more!

Charles Barkley revealed the real reason behind the rift with Michael Jordan

The significance of this golf date extends beyond a simple phone call. While revealing how it happened, Barkley was candid about the emotional toll the silence took on both him and Jordan. “I think, honestly, I think we both missed each other because we’ve had this conversation with other friends, and we were both too stubborn to pick up the phone,” Barkley admitted, sort of confirming why Vince knew that both of them wanted to reconcile. “Vince said, ‘This thing has been silly and stupid, but both of y’all too damn stubborn to pick up the phone, and y’all need to get y’all asses together and play golf and bury this thing.’”

Despite the years of “chill in the air,” Barkley is confident that their upcoming golf outing will feel like no time has passed. He dismissed comparisons to more volatile public feuds, once again dragging the British princes into the mix, saying, “It’s not like we’re like Prince Harry and Prince William, who hate each other.”

“I’m not one of those guys, like, I ain’t trying to prove no point, or I ain’t got no animosity,” Barkley concluded. The reunion is set to take place on the links as soon as Barkley’s broadcasting schedule allows him to fly down to Florida, where The Grove XXIII is. Interestingly, the Grove didn’t open until 2019. So we’ve not seen Chuck at the most prestigious celebrity golf course yet, even though he’s had exclusive invites to Augusta.

While Jordan is notoriously competitive, Barkley expects the atmosphere to be defined by a “lot of love” that they expressed during their brief call. The urgency of the reconciliation wasn’t lost on the 63-year-old Barkley, who ended the segment with a sobering reminder…

When one of the hosts mentioned that neither legend is getting any younger, Barkley quipped with his trademark dark wit: “Unfortunately, we’re not. We’re closer to death than we are alive.”

With the “BS” officially out of the way, two of the greatest to ever play ball are finally ready to spend their remaining time as they started: as friends. And Mr. Coleman, you have our gratitude.