Charles Barkley has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinion, no matter how controversial. Likewise, Sir Charles has considered a political career in the past, and does frequently weigh in on social issues.
On Thursday, Barkley appeared on the CNBC program Closing Bell, and he was asked to share his opinion about the controversial Trayvon Martin–George Zimmerman verdict.
“Well, I agree with the verdict,” Barkley said. “I feel sorry that young kid got killed, but they didn’t have enough evidence to charge them.
“Something clearly went wrong that night. … But if you looked at the case and you don’t make it — there was some racial profiling, no question about it. But something happened that changed the dynamic of that night. And I know, and that’s probably not a popular opinion among most people, but just looking at the evidence I agree with the verdict.”
Essentially, Barkley seems to believe that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin by originally following him. However, Barkley conjectures that Martin “flipped the switch” and started “beating the hell” out of Zimmerman in the confrontation that followed. Moreover, Barkley targeted the media for trumping up the case and making it into a social justice issue.
“I just feel bad because I don’t like when race gets out in the media, because I don’t think the media has a pure heart, as I call it,” Barkley said. “There are a lot of black people who are racist. And I don’t like when it gets out there in the media because I don’t think the media has clean hands.”
Public opinion seems to be on Barkley’s side, as a Rasmussen poll said that 48 percent of Americans agree with the Zimmerman verdict, while 34 percent disagree. However, those numbers are undoubtedly quite different when broken down by race, which is why Barkley’s opinion may surprise some.
Check out Barkley’s comments in the video below.
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Charles Barkley
