In the aftermath of the Ferguson riots last Tuesday, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley backed Darren Wilson and cops at large, telling a Philadelphia sports talk radio show that predominantly black areas and neighborhoods would be akin to the “wild, wild west” without cops present, adding that those protesting need to stop acting “like the cops are all bad.”
“The true story came out of the grand jury testimony,” Barkley told 97.5 The Fanatic’s Mike Missanelli.
“We have to be really careful with the cops man, 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. I hate when we do that.”
“Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops?” Barkley asked.
“I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore,” Barkley said, taking on the media’s coverage of the shooting. “That’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media, because they love this stuff.”
“There is no excuse for those people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning up police cars,” Barkley added. “That serves no purpose whatsoever.”
[h/t: Yahoo]