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It’s not a secret that Charles Barkley has made some pretty questionable comments over the years.

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Just this week he said that people calling for the removal of Confederate statues are “wasting” their time. But it’s what he said on Tuesday about police brutality and African-Americans is truly problematic.

In his eyes, Black people need to realize that we make police officers “nervous” and take responsibility” for that, Black Sports Online reported.

“We’ve got to work out our relationships with the cops. We don’t want young Black men killed by the cops. But also, we’ve got to take some personal responsibility with all the Black-on-Black crime going on in our own community. The cops come in there,” the basketball legend said on ESPN’s Mike & Mike.

He added: “When they make mistakes, we need to hold them accountable. But also, we’ve got to understand (police) come in there. They’re nervous. They’re hyper. They’re gonna make some mistakes. That doesn’t excuse it, but we gotta take some personal responsibility.”

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Real talk: We don’t need to take “personal responsibility” for other people’s racism and fear–that’s their shame, not ours. And the “mistakes” too many police officers are making aren’t trivial like misfiling paperwork. They are using excessive force and unnecessarily killing Black and Brown people. That’s a huge price to pay for a “mistake.”

The 54-year-old later shifted the conversation to focus on whether or not the Golden State Warriors should visit the White House if President Trump invited the championship team. He believes they should because it’s the right thing to do. 

“I think you should go to the White House. It isn’t about the person, it’s about the office. That’s just my opinion,” Barkley said.

Sigh…If Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry do not want to shake hands and entertain #45’s nonsense, they shouldn’t have to. Why does he even care?

But here’s a  better question: When is Barkley going to stop viewing the world through the lens of the Sunken Place Asking for myself.

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Boy Bye! Charles Barkley Says Black Folks Need To Understand That We Make Police ‘Nervous’  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com