Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal made headlines Thursday night on TNT, offering opinions different from most of their NBA brethren while commenting on the shooting and death of Breonna Taylor.
Since restarting the season from a mostly COVID-free bubble in Orlando, the NBA has not stuck to sports, taking public stances on police brutality and social injustice. Recent reaction to the news that no police officer would face charges relating to Taylor’s death has included frustration, anger and sadness. But on Inside The NBA, Barkley and O’Neal didn’t want Taylor’s death linked to the incidents involving George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery.
“I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life, Barkley said. “But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I don’t think we can just put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery.”
It was interesting to see Outkick’s Clay Travis tweet “God Bless Barkley,” commending the analyst for his opinion on the Breonna Taylor case. Travis has regularly ripped the NBA for not sticking to sports, claiming it’s crushing their TV ratings, and Barkley clearly didn’t stick to sports on Thursday.
Barkley would later continue the discussion of social issues, slamming the idea of defunding the police. “Who are Black people supposed to call? Ghostbusters?” Barkley said. “White people, especially rich white people, they’re always going to have cops, so we need to stop this defund or abolish the cops crap,” Barley added.
Barkley was not alone in his assessment of the Breonna Taylor case, his Inside The NBA colleague, Shaquille O’Neal shared a similar opinion.
“I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in,” O’Neal said. “You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. And everyone was asking for murder charges. When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we’re sorry a homicide occurred. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.”
