It’s not unusual for the NBA on TNT to swerve into the realm of politics, and Thursday night’s show was no exception.
As the crew reacted to the decision of a Kentucky Grand Jury to not vote murder charges against the three police officers involved in the March 13 shooting death of Breonna Taylor, Charles Barkley asked if “black people” were supposed to call “Ghost Busters” for help if the police are defunded.
This is not the first time that Barkley has spoken out against defunding police departments. In June, the former 76er called for “weeding out the bad cops,” as opposed to defunding.
“We need to weed out the bad cops — you know I hear these guys getting on television these politicians talking about ‘defunding the police department,’” Barkley said. “First of all, that would have a negative effect on the black communities — who the black people gonna call, Ghostbusters? Because they’re not gonna defund the police in the good white neighborhoods, so we need police reform.”
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced on Wednesday that a Grand Jury had voted an indictment for wanton endangerment against Brett Hankison, one of the three Louisville officers involved in executing the narcotics-related raid in which Breonna Taylor was killed.
Cities across the country exploded in violence mere hours after the decision was announced. In Louisville, two police officers were shot. While in Portland and Seattle, officers were attacked with bats and Molotov cocktails.