'Her boyfriend shot a cop': Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal are attacked on social media for defending police officers who killed Breonna Taylor and blaming her boyfriend who opened fire first
By Chris Pleasance
Daily Mail
September 25, 2020
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal have been accused of defending the Louisville police officers who killed Breonna Taylor and blaming the black EMT's boyfriend for opening fire first.
Barkley and O'Neal were discussing Taylor's death and the decision not to indict any officers in her killing during the TNT pregame show ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets game on Thursday.
Barkley argued that Taylor's death couldn't be compared to the police killing of black man George Floyd because Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker first fired a shot at officers when they entered her apartment with a 'no knock' warrant.
'I don't think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that,' Barkley said.
'I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of across the board. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop.'
O'Neal agreed and argued the officers involved were simply 'doing their job' on a warrant signed by a judge.
He also said that he believed the system needed to change.
'You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. Everyone was asking for murder charges,' he said. 'When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we're sorry a homicide occurred.
'When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.'
Barkley and O'Neal immediately came under fire on social media for their comments as they were accused of 'defending the police'.
One person branded them: 'Skin folk, not kin folk.'
'Charles and Shaq both throwing black women under the bus,' one account with the user name Justice for Breonna Taylor wrote. 'SHAME, I used to be a fan.'
Herb Jones, a former Democrat candidate for the Virginia Senate, added: 'Lost much respect for Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal today regarding their comments regarding the murder of Breonna Taylor...
'So it's OK for some people to protect themselves but not OK for others?'
During the same show, Barkley also spoke out on calls by protesters to 'defund the police', cautioning against knee-jerk responses to cop killings.
He argued that defunding cops will mean officers being removed from white neighborhoods, leaving black ones unprotected.
'Who are black folks supposed to call,' he said, 'Ghostbusters?'
Instead of removing police, he said 'we need police reform and prison reform'.
Barkley's comments stand in marked contrast to other prominent figures in the NBA, including LeBron James, who have thrown their weight behind social justice campaigners fighting for the officers to be charged.
Following Thursday night's game, which saw the Lakers win, LeBron said: 'I know we lost a beautiful woman in Breonna. And we want justice no matter how long it takes.
'We're here playing this
game and it is very hard and very difficult, but at the same time, our
hearts are with that family. And it is just so unjustice what's going
on.
No comments:
Post a Comment