As funny as he can be sometimes, Charles Barkley isn’t exempt from controversy, and Thursday night he confirmed he has strong views about the world and he isn’t afraid of saying them regardless of where he is and who he is talking with.
On Thursday’s edition of TNT’s Inside the NBA, Barkley and his co-hosts were discussing the decision by a Kentucky grand jury to not file murder or manslaughter charges against Louisville police in the death of Breonna Taylor, a woman who was shot dead in her sleep.
For Barkley, this death can’t be compared or put at the same level as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery’s. Chuck expressed that Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at cops first after they executed a no-knock warrant for a suspect who had already been arrested.
“I don’t think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that,” Barkley began. “I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think this one was — the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of … across the board. But I am worried to lump all these situations in together.”
He continued, “And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So like I say, even though I am 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.”
Shaquille O’Neal, Barkley’s co-host and also a deputized sheriff, agreed with Chuck, saying that the warrant makes things different in this case.
“I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in,” O’Neal said. “You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. And everyone was asking for murder charges. When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we’re sorry a homicide occurred. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.”
Of course, people weren’t having any of that and they flooded social media with strong messages against Barkley’s remarks.
https://twitter.com/ashe_elizabeth/status/1309293198456414209https://twitter.com/go_ACC_/status/1309291467114983424https://twitter.com/ashjaceall/status/1309292739213680640
Charles’ comments on social issues have been consistently idiotic https://t.co/ui0nnWas8T
— The Anonymous Nobody (@el_budget) September 25, 2020
Umm, no. https://t.co/Cmv414MR9B
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) September 25, 2020
https://t.co/OBBn34Ycsk pic.twitter.com/b9WzJXYvee
— the purpose of a system is what it does (@PushaStee) September 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/DivineDisbelief/status/1309293196845879297https://twitter.com/Kansasbred89/status/1309292933582131205https://twitter.com/KobyVeillon/status/1309293156169658369
Other stars like LeBron James have expressed his unhappiness with this case, showing their support to Taylor’s family but that’s not the case with Charles.
This doesn’t look good. She didn’t have anything to do with this whole thing and ended up losing her life while she was sleeping at home. Nothing should justify that and it’s a shame some people actually believe the cops were right to kill an innocent woman in her sleep.
