Former NBA star Charles Barkley had a few choice words for those obsessed with removing statues of Conderate figures, telling the black community they should focus on getting an education and economic opportunity instead.
Interviewed by Rick Karle, sports director at WBRC FOX6, Barkley stated:
I’m not going to waste my time worrying about these Confederate statues; that’s wasted energy. You know what I’m gonna do? I’m going to keep doing great things; I’m going to 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.
I’m not going to waste my time screaming at a neo-Nazi who’s gonna hate me, no matter what; and I’m not going to waste my time, trying to, worried about these statues that they’ve got all over the country.
Karle asked, “So do you leave them up, or do you — ”
Barkley responded:
I’ve always ignored them. … Rick, I’m 54 years old; I’ve never thought about those statues a day in my life. I’ve never — I think if you ask most black people, to be honest, they ain’t thought a day in their life about those stupid statues. What we as 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. Don’t waste — those things are important and significant. I’m wasting time and energy screaming at a neo-Nazi, or “Man, you gotta take this statue down."
Barkley was lauded on Twitter:
Video of Barkley below: