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So this happened.

No stranger to making waves when it comes to talking race relations in America, TNT analyst and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said in an interview that he agreed with the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo. officer Darren Wilson for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown Jr.

“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkley told host Mike Missanelli. “I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they [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. ”

During the interview with Philadelphia’s 97.5 Fanatic radio station last week, Barkley also took a more extreme stance, calling Ferguson protestors and rioters “scumbags.” He paired the name calling with his opinion of the negative portrayal of black people in the media and his own take on blacks who are “holding us back.”

“There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning down police cars.”

“Them jackasses who are looting,” Barkley said. “Those aren’t real black people, those are scumbags. The real black people, they’re not out there looting. I just watched on CNN where a bunch of folks, really amazing folks wouldn’t let them burn down an establishment. it was a great story. I was in Philly this summer when I saw four black kids who left money in a store when there was nobody in the store. … We only put the negative black people on television. We don’t put the good, hard-working black people. …

“There’s a perception among some black people that if you’re not a thug or hood rat or if you don’t war your pants around by your ass, you’re not black enough. They’re always holding us back, plain and simple.”

Barkley, who supported the George Zimmerman verdict last year, went on to suggest that said communities should be thankful for the police.

“[W]e 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?”

Interesting. We know some communities that would disagree. Listen to Barkley’s full interview here.

SOURCE: Washington Post, 97.5 | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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