https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ayUYvTrVgNBA legend Charles Barkley sounded off on the crisis in Ferguson by lashing out against "scumbags" who have rioted in the days after a grand jury chose not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown.
Speaking on Philadelphia sports radio station 97.5 The Fanatic last week, Barkley spoke in favor of the grand jury's decision while ripping looters for destroying their own neighborhood under the guise of racial protest.
"Those aren't black people, those are scumbags," the NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst said of rioters, who targeted mostly minority-owned businesses.
"There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people's businesses, burning down police cars."
Barkley also said that authorities got it right by not prosecuting Wilson, who shot 18-year-old Brown six times on Aug. 9 in a controversial incident that sparked nationwide protests while pushing Ferguson to the forefront of the country's racial divide.
"The true story came out from the grand jury testimony," Barkely said, adding that "three or four witnesses, who were black, said exactly what the cop [WILSON] said."
Much of the misinformation surrounding the case, according to Barkley, is due to the press.
"[THE MEDIA]love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. The media shouldn't do that. They never do that when black people kill each other. "
Well known for his controversial positions on race, Barkley called on the black community to stop automatically seeing police as the enemy.
"We have to be really careful with the cops, 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.... Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops"?
Barkley's comments come in sharp contrast to other high-profile athletes who have given their take on the case - most recently members of the St. Louis Rams, who took the field prior to Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders by using the ?Hands up, don?t shoot? gesture adopted by protestors in Ferguson.
