NBA legend Charles Barkley has weighed in on the blazing-hot controversy surrounding Confederate monuments in the United States — and he thinks the outrage is a waste of time.
“I’m not going to waste my time worrying about these Confederate statues — that’s wasted energy,” he said. “You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna keep doing great things, I’m gonna keep trying to make a difference — number one, in the black community because I’m black — but I’m also going to try to do good things in the world.”
Barkley argued he has no interest in “screaming at a neo-Nazi who’s gonna hate me no matter what” or wasting his time worrying about the Confederate statues. When asked if the statues should simply be left alone, the NBA great wondered why he should care.
“I’ve always ignored them,” Barkley added. “I’m 54 years old. I’ve never thought about those statues a day in my life. I think if you ask most black people to be honest, they haven’t thought a day in their life about those stupid statues.”
He went on to outline what he thinks “black people need to do.”
“We need to worry about getting our education, we need to stop killing each other, we need to try to find a way to have more economic opportunity and things like that,” Barkley said. “Those things are important and significant.”
Barkley has been known to weigh in on controversial issues — so he surely knew there would be some backlash. Some of the responses on Twitter were downright ugly. However, he also received plenty of support.
Charles Barkley Drops Scorching Hot Take on Confederate Statues — The Left Is Going to Hate It
“I’m not going to waste my time worrying about these Confederate statues — that’s wasted energy,” he said. “You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna keep doing great things, I’m gonna keep trying to make a difference — number one, in the black community because I’m black — but I’m also going to try to do good things in the world.”
Barkley argued he has no interest in “screaming at a neo-Nazi who’s gonna hate me no matter what” or wasting his time worrying about the Confederate statues. When asked if the statues should simply be left alone, the NBA great wondered why he should care.
“I’ve always ignored them,” Barkley added. “I’m 54 years old. I’ve never thought about those statues a day in my life. I think if you ask most black people to be honest, they haven’t thought a day in their life about those stupid statues.”
He went on to outline what he thinks “black people need to do.”
“We need to worry about getting our education, we need to stop killing each other, we need to try to find a way to have more economic opportunity and things like that,” Barkley said. “Those things are important and significant.”
Barkley has been known to weigh in on controversial issues — so he surely knew there would be some backlash. Some of the responses on Twitter were downright ugly. However, he also received plenty of support.
Charles Barkley Drops Scorching Hot Take on Confederate Statues — The Left Is Going to Hate It
