Charles Barkley Speaks His Mind About Why He Agrees With The Ferguson Decision

Former NBA great Charles Barkley is once again voicing his opinion on Ferguson. Not long ago, he called Ferguson looters ‘scumbags,’ and now he is weighing in on the grand jury’s decision that literally set Ferguson on fire.

While being interviewed by Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic on the Tuesday after the Ferguson decision was announced, Mike Missanelli asked Barkley why he felt that black America did not trust the Ferguson ruling, reports Yahoo.

“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony, key forensic evidence, and several black witnesses that supported Officer Darren Wilson’s story. 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 said.

When asked about the riots, Barkley said,”There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning down police cars.”

“Real black people, they’re not out there looting. I just watched a great story on CNN where bunch of folks wouldn’t let them burn down an establishment, it was a great story… But unfortunately, the way the media portrays a lot of black people, we only put the negative black people on television. We don’t put the good hard-working black people. That’s what I said and that’s what I meant. There’s a perception amongst some black people that if you’re not a thug or a hood rat, you don’t wear your pants down by your [expletive] you’re not black enough. And they’re always holding us back, plain and simple. And I ain’t shutting up and I ain’t backing down,” Barkley added.

Barkley says that he supports the police, especially those who work in black neighborhoods, reports USA Today.

“[W]e 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. 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 said.

After his interview aired Barkley received pats on the back from conservatives and bloggers alike.

Barkley’s comments are profusely different from many of his black colleagues, but that is not surprising for Barkley has always walked his own path.

Back in 2013, Barkley also agreed with the George Zimmerman acquittal in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Barkley’ response to Ferguson has lit up Twitter with both support and anger.