NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley called out recent instances of anti-Semitism from figures like Nick Cannon and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, arguing that it’s wrong to fight “hatred with more hatred.”
On a July 17 edition of his podcast “The Steam Room” that he co-hosts with his fellow NBA on TNT analyst Ernie Johnson, Barkley specifically called out former NBA player and ESPN analyst Stephen Jackson (no relation to DeSean Jackson) and rapper Ice Cube in addition to DeSean Jackson and Cannon.
“What the hell are y’all doing?” Barkley said. “Y’all want racial equality … we all do. I don’t understanding how insulting another group helps our cause.”
He lamented that former Los Angeles Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been the only notable figure to call them out, arguing there shouldn’t be prejudice in the Black community.
“We can’t allow Black people to be prejudiced also, especially if we’re asking for white folks to respect us,” Barkley argued.
The former NBA player added: “I’m so disappointed in these men, but I don’t understand how you beat hatred with more hatred. That stuff should never come up in your vocabulary, and that stuff should never come up in your heart. I don’t understand it and I’m never going to accept it.”
Barkley concluded his video calling on Cannon, Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson to all “be better” since they’re famous and have large platforms.
“I don’t understand how you beat hatred with more hatred.”
Charles on the recent anti-Semitic comments by athletes & entertainers. https://t.co/g2EfvXAxOv pic.twitter.com/DtF2aO6N5m
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) July 17, 2020
International human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky praised Barkley’s comments in a tweet.
“Total respect for @NBA legend #CharlesBarkley, for calling out the racism & Antisemitism of some African American sports stars and celebrities!” he wrote.
“You can’t fight hatred with more hatred.” Total respect for @NBA legend #CharlesBarkley, for calling out the racism & Antisemitism of some African American sports stars and celebrities!https://t.co/lixIhd9OmG
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 17, 2020
Abdul-Jabbar called out Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Chelsea Handler, who called a video from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan “powerful,” in a July 14 op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter.
“These famous, outspoken people share the same scapegoat logic as all oppressive groups from Nazis to the KKK [Ku Klux Klan]: all our troubles are because of bad-apple groups that worship wrong, have the wrong complexion, come from the wrong country, are the wrong gender or love the wrong gender,” he wrote. “It’s so disheartening to see people from groups that have been violently marginalized do the same thing to others without realizing that perpetuating this kind of bad logic is what perpetuates racism.”
Abdul-Jabbar did acknowledge that DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Handler all apologized but argued that “it’s not enough to have good intentions, because it’s the actual deeds — and words — which have the real impact.”
