Free Republic

Charles Barkley reacted to the Breonna Taylor indictment decision during a broadcast before an NBA playoff game on Thursday -- and also dismissed calls to defund the police. Barkley said on the “NBA on TNT” broadcast that Taylor’s death cannot be put in the same category as those of George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery. Floyd was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis and Arbery was fatally shot while jogging in Georgia. “It’s bad this young lady lost her life,” Barkley said of Taylor. “But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend did shoot at the cops...

Steve Nash was named the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday morning. The announcement was unexpected, to say the least. Nash, 46, has no head coaching experience. This prompted many to wonder if Brooklyn’s decision to immediately put him at the helm of a championship contender featuring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was race-related. ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith literally made that case during Thursday’s episode of First Take. “This is one of the toughest positions I’ve ever had to take,” Smith said on the air. “Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no way around this. This is...

After three playoff games were suspended in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the Inside crew reacts to the postponement of the game and Kenny delivers a powerful message in support of the players.

RUSH: The Milwaukee Journal… The Journal Sentinel is the newspaper. They’re reporting that the home opener for the Milwaukee Brewers is off because of positive tests for the St. Louis Cardinals, COVID-19. The Cardinals just come in from Minnesota were they were playing “the Twinks,” the Twins. By the way, those Twins uniforms are really pretty, those home powder blue things? I have to say. I mean, this is Tom Haudricourt in the Journal saying, “I have confirmation the Brewers home opener is off because of positive tests with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals just came from Minnesota, so...

American basketball legend Charles Barkley continues to anger leftists by holding very moderate political opinions. Last month, Barkley took issue with black celebrities promulgating anti-Semitic and anti-white racism. And on Thursday, Barkley again ticked off leftists by defending professional sports players who choose to stand during the national anthem. The first game of the NBA returned on Thursday in a matchup between the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans. Every player, coach, and even the referee took a knee as the national anthem began to play. The players wore shirts with the words "Black Lives Matter" emblazoned on the...

ESPN suspended NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski a day after a profane email from him to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was leaked to social media, according to multiple reports. Outkick and the New York Post both reported that the basketball reporter was suspended. The newspaper reported he was suspended without pay. It was unclear how long the suspension is for. The incident occurred after Hawley’s office sent a news release detailing a letter he planned to send NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, criticizing the league’s decision to limit messages players can wear on their uniforms to “pre-approved, social justice slogans” while “censoring...

“I think we’re missing the point,” Charles Barkley told CNBC yesterday about the role of sports — and the fans — in the current unrest. Without a doubt, the NBA Hall of Famer said, we need police reform, but that should mean “good cops out there policing the bad cops. … My concern is turning this into a circus instead of trying to do some good stuff.”If professional sports leagues think they’ll get there by shoving the argument into fans’ faces constantly, Barkley thinks they might just talk themselves out of a job. “They [the fans] don’t want to...

Sports leagues and players have turned racial justice issues into a “circus” by focusing more on who’s kneeling or what message is written on players’ jerseys rather than real change, basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said Friday. “I think we’re missing the point,” the former 76ers, Suns and Rockets star told CNBC. “We need police reform, we need prison reform. ... My concern is turning this into a circus instead of trying to do some good stuff.” The media contributes to the "circus" by focusing on kneeling and messages on buses and jerseys, he added.

NBA legend Charles Barkley isn’t taking any chances with the coronavirus. Barkley reportedly wasn’t feeling well and took it upon himself to get tested for the virus and self-quarantine until he receives his results. Barkley made headlines on Thursday when he suggested March Madness be suspended until there was more information about the coronavirus. The NCAA followed the rest of sports and suspended all operations.

TNT's Charles Barkley apologizes for 'attempted joke' after allegedly telling female reporter 'I would hit you' Charles Barkley apologized to a reporter Wednesday for what he called an “attempted joke,” following claims the NBA Hall of Famer had told her “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you.” The TNT basketball commentator's response came a day after Axios reporter Alexi McCammond tweeted about the alleged exchange. McCammond, a politics reporter covering the 2020 presidential election, wrote: “Just FYI Charles Barkley told me tonight “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you,” and...

Charles Barkley received backlash late Tuesday after Axios reporter posted on Twitter that the NBA Hall of Famer told her, “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you.” Alexi McCammond said Barkley made the remark after she asked for clarification over which Democratic presidential candidate he supports ahead of the 2020 race. The reporter said Barkley made the comment while speaking off the record. She said she published the tweet despite their agreement.

Former NBA player Charles Barkley said that Vice President Mike Pence “needs to shut the hell up” in response to Pence’s comments blasting the NBA for being accommodating China. “First of all, Vice President Pence needs to shut the hell up,” Barkley said during an NBA pregame on TNT. “All American companies are doing business in China.” The former NBA player added that he thought it was “unfair” that politicians were attempting “to make the NBA and our players look bad” after President Trump has started a trade war against China. “But I don’t understand why these holier than thou...

Charles Barkley claims that those who criticize the NBA for not taking a stance on China are hypocrites (and worse). He says people ripped Colin Kaepernick for taking a stance on race relations and the police in America, yet want the NBA and its players to take positions about what happens in a foreign country. Barkley is wide of the mark. First, Kaepernick was ripped not for taking a position on race and the police, but rather for refusing to respect our National Anthem. I haven’t heard anyone say that NBA officials or players should kneel when the Chinese anthem...

Barkley can’t get over Jussie Smollett writing a $3,500 check to the Nigerians to attack him. 2 minute video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=126&v=RpBKIipFvqI

https://twitter.com/_/status/898285458475687936 In light of the recent movement to remove Confederate statues, NBA legend Charles Barkley said worrying about “those stupid statues” was a “waste” of time. Barkley said in his 54 years he has “never thought about those statues,” adding he would rather worry about bettering the black community.

RUSH: There's only one man in America who can say anything about race and not get any blowback. There is only one man who can opine in a way contrary to the civil rights coalition version of events and not get any blowback. I'm not talking about Sharpton or Jackson. They get blowback from opponents and so forth. I'm not talking about them. There's one person not involved in the civil rights movement, not involved in the race base, there's only one man in America who can react to this and say whatever he wants to say publicly, not on...

One thing you can say about former NBA star and current analyst Charles Barkley is that he is not afraid to speak his mind. Like many other celebrities, Barkley has spoken out about the decision by a Ferguson grand jury to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown and the aftermath that has ensued. However, Barkley’s stance may come as a surprise to some. During an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia with Mike Missanelli on Tuesday, the day after the decision was announced, Barkley was asked to share his thoughts on Ferguson. Missanelli asked...

No stranger to controversial statements, NBA Hall of Famer turned sports commentator, Charles Barkley, blamed stagnation in the Black community on “brainwashed” Black people too “unintelligent” to choose education over street credibility. During an appearance on Philadelphia’s “Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis” radio show, Sir Charles responded to a Bleacher Report article claiming that teammates of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson felt that he wasn’t “Black enough.” Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman denied the locker room racism, telling CBS Sports, “Nobody in here said that. It’s made up.” Wilson also brushed off the story, saying, “Black enough? I don’t...

Charles Barkley roasted Jussie Smollett on Thursday night after more details of the racist attack he is accused of staging emerged, taking particular pleasure in mocking the actor for allegedly writing a personal, backdated check to the men he paid to beat him. Speaking during his half-time coverage of the Houston Rockets-Los Angeles Lakers game, Barkley had his co-commentators on TNT in stitches after bringing the controversial case up. They were discussing unlikely scenarios on the basketball court when Barkley steered the conversation towards Smollett mischievously.

WASHINGTON — Charles Barkley is weary. He was never a fan of Donald Trump’s, even before the election, but now he’s tired of ‘‘this turmoil every single day — the tweeting, the hiring and firing.’’ In an interview with David Axelrod on CNN’s ‘‘Axe Files,’’ Barkley was angry with those voted for Trump, saying that the president’s message had resonated with voters ‘‘who just won’t look in a mirror and say, ‘My life sucks because of me.’ “ ‘‘I’ve never been more angry and disgusted at this situation than I am now. This turmoil every single day — the tweeting,...