Famous American NBA pundit and former pro basketball player Charles Barkley has recently stepped forward to address calls regarding the police funding made amid the ongoing BLM protests in the United States.
During his appearance on an NBA playoff pregame show on TNT, Barkley criticized those urging to "defund the police", arguing that it may not be such a good idea.
"I hear these fools on TV talking about 'defund the police' and things like that. We need police reform, prison reform, and things like that. Because you know who ain't going to defund the cops? White neighborhoods and rich neighborhoods", he remarked. "So, that notion, they keep saying that, I'm like, wait a minute, who are black people supposed to call? Ghostbusters?"
Barkley's remarks elicited a somewhat mixed reaction online, as while some seemed to appreciate his sentiment, others proceeded to argue about what exactly the calls to "defund the police" imply.
As The Hill points out, Barkley also mentioned the tragic death of Breonna Taylor, cautioning people not to "lump" her case together with "other high-profile cases involving African-Americans this year including George Floyd", as he pointed out that Taylor's boyfriend did shoot first at the cops.
"I feel bad this young lady lost her life. But, you know, we do have to take into account her boyfriend did shoot at the cops and shot a cop", he said. "So, like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I just don't think we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery."
Protests erupted in the city of Louisville, Kentucky earlier this week after a US Grand Jury ruled to not charge any police officer involved in the fatal shooting of African-American woman Breonna Taylor during a narcotics raid back in March, with only one officer being indicted for wanton endangerment.