Charles Barkley defended police and had to be escorted away from hostile crowd

Basketball legend Charles Barkley is busy filming his new show on TNT called The Race Card and was recently rushed away from a hostile crowd that turned on him after he defended murdered police officers.

The audience at the taping was filled with community activists who were clearly more Black Lives Matter than they were Blue because they became offended after Barkley questioned their remorse over the recent murders of four police officers around the United States. Barkley asked, “Did anybody say, ‘Man, I feel bad for their family?’ There was no love [for police] in this room,” according to IJ Review.

One woman whose son died in police custody a few years ago reportedly responded, “I don’t know you, I don’t like you,” to which Barkley said:

“I’m sorry for your loss. As far as you not liking me, it really doesn’t bother me. I’m used to it. I’m like the homecoming queen. All the ugly girls hate you. That’s part of my life. I never take anything personally.”

The crowd grew even angrier, as another shouted, “What does your condolence mean to her? How simple and arrogant are you? There are so many black men that care about our community that for us to dwell on one man that just won’t get it is a waste of everybody’s time.”

The insults and ire continued Barkley’s way, and his security team decided it was time to take him off the stage.

Barkley’s show will premiere in the new year, and it promises to be as “controversial” as the man himself. A TNT release about the show stated:

NBA legend and Inside the NBA analyst Charles Barkley has had enough. The America that he knew has lost its way, becoming mired in partisan politics, social divides and entrenched corporate interests. Now he hopes to get to the root of the problem in the new limited-run series “The Race Card” …

Each week, Barkley will take on the rapidly calcifying positions around today’s hot-button topics. He will seek out the sharpest and most varied viewpoints from today’s cultural leaders and tastemakers. He will then challenge and probe those ideas, even trying them out on himself.

Barkley regularly offends the black community with his strong advice “to do better as black people.” Though he “can handle the heat,” he is often portrayed as too privileged to understand the black community. But based on this incident, it doesn’t appear they want his advice.