If you’re a millionaire athlete and happen to compare your sport to slavery, Charles Barkley may have some tough words for you.
The Auburn legend and Alabama native recently threw barbs at Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after he said that New York Knicks owner James Dolan has a “slave-master mentality.” Green made the comment regarding the bitter relationship between Dolan and retired basketball player Charles Oakley.
“Now you’re doing it against me, or you’re speaking out against my organization, it’s not good anymore? That’s a slave mentality — slave master mentality,” Green said last week on his podcast. “That’s ridiculous. It was all fine and dandy when he was laying people out, taking fines and all this stuff for your organization. But now all of a sudden when he says something that he feels, it’s a problem.”
During an interview on an Atlanta sports radio show, Barkley blasted the star over the comment.
“I don’t think you ever use basketball analogies to compare slaves to guys that are making $20 million, $30 million a year. The Knicks have been very disrespectful to Carmelo [Anthony], but to compare guys making $20 million, $30 million to slaves is just asinine and stupid,” Barkley said.
While Barkley has been quick to address racial issues before, he won’t hesitate to call out hypocrisy if he thinks the race card is being played inappropriately. In November, he was shouted down at a race relations town hall event for urging compassion for families of police targeted in the line of duty.
“Did anybody say, ‘Man, I feel bad for their family?’” Barkley reportedly asked attendees at the time, adding that the crowd had “no love” for law enforcement officers.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.