NBA Analyst Charles Barkley on Ferguson, Says Looters are Scumbags

NBA Legend and Analyst Charles Barkley has made open comments about racial issues in the United States in the past. The recent shooting of a black unarmed teenager, Michael Brown in Ferguson by a white man and the consequent protests by the city as a result of the Grand Jury not indicting Officer Darren Wilson has once again brought up widespread discussion regarding the issue of race in the Country.

In an appearance at the 97.5 The Fanatic radio station in Philadelphia, Barkley once again voiced his opinion on the Ferguson Grand Jury decision and slammed the black community that looted and burned down businesses.

“[Those expletives] who are looting, those aren’t real black people, those are scumbags. 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 a’int shutting up and I a’int backing down.”

Barkley further defended the law enforcement saying:

“I’m not saying who is right or wrong, I’m just hearing the true story that came out of the grand jury investigation…. Let me just say this. I think that we, we – I know I’m black, but I’m going to try to always be honest and fair – we have to be really careful with the cops. If it wasn’t for the cops, we’d be living in the wild wild west in out neighborhoods. We can’t pick out certain incidents that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad. I hate when we do that. Think about it. Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops? It’s always great to play monday morning quarterback…. Like I say, I don’t know what happened in Ferguson, nobody knows what happened. I want to take the time as a responsible person [and] read the grand jury statement.”