Alabama native and basketball legend Charles Barkley is continuing his streak of being candidly outspoken on hot-button issues.
During a Thursday night NBA pregame show on TNT, Barkley addressed the movement by some on the left to defund or even abolish the police. The former Auburn University star and NBA Hall of Famer also touched on the Breonna Taylor grand jury decision announced this week in Louisville, KY.
“We have to be really careful,” Barkley said.
“I hear these fools on TV talking about ‘defund the police’ and things like that,” he continued. “We need police reform and prison reform and things like that. Because you know who ain’t going to defund the cops? White neighborhoods and rich neighborhoods.”
“So, that notion, they keep saying that,” Barkley added. “I’m like, wait a minute … who are black people supposed to call? Ghostbusters? When we have crime in our neighborhoods. We need police reform. … So we need to stop that ‘defund’ or ‘abolish’ the cops crap.”
Charles Barkley on defunding the police “Who are black people supposed to call Ghost Busters when we have crime in our neighborhood? We need to stop the defund or abolish the police crap” pic.twitter.com/uEIsnX729g
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) September 25, 2020
Barkley subsequently cautioned not to “lump” Taylor’s death with other controversial cases involving the deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcement this year, including George Floyd in Minneapolis. Barkley stressed that Taylor’s boyfriend shot at police first.
“This one, I don’t think it was like George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and things like that,” Barkley remarked. “I feel bad this young lady lost her life. But, you know, we do have to take into account her boyfriend did shoot at the cops and shot a cop.”
“So, like I say, even though I’m really sorry she lost her life, I just don’t think we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery,” he added. “I just don’t believe that.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
