Charles Barkley offered up thoughts on the current ‘defund police’ craze tearing through leftist America, stating he didn’t agree because most cops are good cops.
The NBA legend did agree with the need for reforms in an appearance with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday, but said defunding was a bridge too far.
“We need the cops, most of the cops do a fantastic job, but instead of defunding and all this other stuff, let’s just do police reform,” he advised.
“Everybody should be on board for that whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, conservative or liberal.”
“Kneeling has become the big story, instead of police brutality.” NBA legend and basketball hall-of-famer Charles Barkley says that while he supports NFL players who kneel, he feels the conversation needs to move past that. pic.twitter.com/qfJguTP3ig
— CNN (@CNN) June 9, 2020
RELATED: Charles Barkley Says the Democratic Party Has Done Little to Help Black Americans
Clowns
The former Philadelphia 76er and Phoenix Sun also points out that the George Floyd case has less to do with race, and more to do with a basic appreciation for life.
“This is not black or white, this is just about humanity,” Barkley said. “To see a grown man die before our eyes. If you’re not upset by that if you’re white, Jewish, Chinese, anything, there is something wrong with you.”
Much to the media’s dismay, there aren’t very many people who have seen footage of what happened to Floyd and weren’t outraged. If there were a real race issue in America, support for the officers who were arrested would be out there. But there isn’t any.
Rarely at a loss for words, Barkley proceeded to rip politicians on both sides of the aisle.
“The Democrats and the Republicans can’t even talk about police reform,” added Barkley. “That’s the number one thing they should do before they do anything else.”
He referred to lawmakers as “clowns.”
Bravo, Sir Charles: “We need the cops, most of the cops do a fantastic job, but instead of defunding & all this other stuff, let’s just do police reform. Everybody should be on board for that whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, conservative or liberal.” https://t.co/3GjmVxz2Bv
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 11, 2020
RELATED: Senator Tim Scott Turns The Tables On Democrats After Being Called ‘Token’ Black Republican
Republican Reforms
To be fair, the Republican party, spearheaded by efforts from Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), have been drafting police reform legislation.
Scott’s proposal would provide greater funding for body cameras, require police to report use-of-force to the FBI, and would make lynching a federal hate crime.
The reason we’re not talking about real reform is that, as per usual, the left has taken a need in this country and run so far to the extreme with it, that the only thing people can focus on right now is the absurd calls to defund police.
Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of “token” “boy” or “you’re being used” in my mentions. Let me get this straight…you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) June 10, 2020
Barkley is no fan of President Trump or either political party, but he is a rare celebrity who speaks his mind after thoughtful consideration of the facts. And he doesn’t pull any punches.
That’s something we all need right now after watching cities and streets burn in reaction to the Floyd case. More facts, less rage.
