Charles Barkley says NBA’s social justice stance is becoming a circus
By John Buhler
Charles Barkley had things to say about the NBA’s social justice efforts.
Charles Barkley has never been afraid to speak his mind.
He’s not a role model, he’s an NBA analyst paid to give his opinion for Turner Sports. On Friday, Barkley appeared on CNBC to give his opinion on the NBA’s social justice initiatives. Disclaimer: He’s not the biggest fan of how the league is going about it right now.
“What’s happening now is we’re turning into a circus,” Barkley said Friday on CNBC. “Instead of talking about racial equality, racial justice and economic justice, we spend all our time worrying about who’s kneeling and not kneeling, what things are being said on buses, what’s being said on jerseys. I think we’re missing the point.
“We need police reform, prison reform. Those are No. 1 and No. 2 things to focus on. We need the cops, good cops out there policing bad cops …. When we spend time focusing on what’s on the jersey, that’s gonna defeat purpose. My concern is this is turning into a circus instead of trying to do some good stuff.”
Charles Barkley wants police reform and prison reform to be the focus again.
Barkley may not agree with the 29 pre-packaged, league-approved messages players can display on the back of their jerseys in the bubble, but he does have a point in that police reform and prison reform should be at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement. These are the two things that will effect the most change and hopefully bring just for all for once.
“We are in a divided country,” said Barkley. “Sports used to be a place where fans could go and get away from reality. Now it’s such a mixture. It’s going to be fascinating watching what happens with the fans.
“Fans are at a disadvantage, they’re going through the pandemic. They don’t want to see a bunch of rich people talking about stuff all the time. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer…People lost jobs and the last thing they want to do is turn on the television to hear arguments about stuff all the time. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the public reacts.”
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No doubt the world has become increasingly political. It’s been a tough year for us all and the presidential election isn’t for a few months. In November, that is when changes can be made at the polls. You can vote for however you want because this is America. If we want police reform and prison reform, that is when and where we can effect change: At the polls in November.
Charles Barkley wants us to get back to the issue at hand of police reform and prison reform.