Charles Barkley is the latest celebrity to voice his opinions on the Breonna Taylor case and ‘Defund The Police’ movement. While many, including Colin Kaepernick, have given their utmost disbelief and anger with the situation, Barkley gives a different view.
On TNT, he explains he believes it is incorrect to place Breonna Taylor in the same category as George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. Barkley says because her boyfriend posed a threat to officers on the scene, the situation is different from others.
“We do have to take into account that her boyfriend did shoot at the cops and shot a cop,” Barkley says. He adds, “Even though I am really sorry that she lost her life, I don’t think we can just put this in the situation as George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.”
‘NBA on TNT’ is famous for its host extending their conversations beyond the game of basketball, so this conversation involving social justice issues is not unprecedented. Shaquille O’Neal, who is also a host on the show, adds that he agrees with Barkley, Yahoo Sports reports. “When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we’re sorry a homicide occurred,” O’Neal says. In addition, highlighting how some states allow no-knock warrants, he says the cops were just following job duties. “You are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back,” he says.
Charles Barkley on ‘Defund The Police’
The conversation also touched on the ‘Defund The Police’ movement and protests. On that, Charles Barkley calls people “fools” for pushing to defund the police. He adds, “We need to stop that defund or abolish the cops crap.”
He says there needs to be police reform, rather than defunding. He calls out hypocrisy, saying “white people, especially rich white people, they’re always going to have cops,” so defunding the departments just hurts black communities further. “Who are black people supposed to call, Ghostbusters?” he rhetorically asks.
Twitter is beginning to buzz with support as well as criticism for the former NBA players’ words. Some say he “deliberately misrepresented facts,” while others send praise, saying, “God bless Barkley.”
