The Inside the NBA crew opted not to talk about basketball in advance of Thursday night's Cavaliers-Knicks game, instead discussing race relations in the wake of non-indictments of police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Charles Barkley apologized somewhat for his word choice in previous statements on the topic, specifically regretting that he had called those who rioted "scumbags." But he held firm on a lot of his talking points, saying that he felt the officers should not have been indicted, and that creating disorder was not in anybody's best interest. He also said this:
"I shouldnt say slavery is one of the worst things ever because I dont know anything about it, other than what I've read" - Charles Barkley
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) December 5, 2014
Kenny Smith, who had written an open letter in response to Barkley's statements, made it clear that he and Barkley were on good terms and spoke about the racial divide that led to rioting.