NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley this week spoke out against the “defund the police” movement gaining popularity among the far-left wing of the national Democratic Party.

Barkley, an Alabama native who attended Auburn University, appeared on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” on Tuesday.

During the interview, Barkley stressed that the death of George Floyd while in custody of since-fired Minneapolis Police Department officers was a “disgrace” that all Americans should be upset about.

“And everybody wants to make it about black or white. This is not black or white, this is just about humanity,” Barkley said. “To see a grown man die before our eyes. If you’re not upset by that if you’re white, Jewish, Chinese, anything, there is something wrong with you.”

The outspoken TNT basketball analyst called for “police reform” and criticized “clowns” in both parties that have not gotten reform done over the last decade. However, he clarified that “defunding” the police should not be on the agenda.

“We need the cops, most of the cops do a fantastic job, but instead of defunding and all this other stuff, let’s just do police reform. Everybody should be on board for that whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, conservative or liberal,” Barkley said.

“Kneeling has become the big story, instead of police brutality.” NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley says while he supports NFL players who kneel, he feels that the conversation needs to move past that. pic.twitter.com/nNIyH3g04T

— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) June 9, 2020

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn