Charles Barkley Weighs In On Ferguson Crisis (Listen)

Former NBA star Charles Barkley said during a recent radio interview that “we would be living in the wild, Wild West” if it weren’t for police officers and that there is no excuse for “scumbags” to be torching police vehicles in Ferguson, Missouri.

“The true story (of Brown’s death) came out from the grand-jury testimony,” he said.

Barkley also had words of praise for officers who work in black neighborhoods.

“We have to be really careful with the cops, because if it wasn’t for the cops we would be living in the wild, wild west in our neighborhoods,” he said. “We can’t pick out certain incidentals that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad. Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops?”

He continued, “I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they (the media) love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. The media shouldn’t do that. They never do that when black people kill each other.”

Barkley later added to his comments, saying the people who are rioting in Ferguson “aren’t real black people.” (See the additional comments below.”

Barkley is no stranger to airing his feelings on race or just about any other topic.

In October, Barkley, who grew up in Leeds, said black people too often value criminal behavior over education..

“For some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough. If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent, and don’t break the law, you’re not a good black person. It’s a dirty, dark secret in the black community,” he said.

Agencies/Canadajournal