Wikipedia.com

On Thursday, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley was a guest on 94 WIP Philly Radio on the Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis show to discuss a wide array of topics, including some very direct comments about the black community.

After Mr. Barkley bashed Homeland Security for raiding a Kansas City lingerie shop for illegal panties, Anthony Gargano segued from an earlier comment Mr. Barkley had made regarding envy and asked for Mr. Barkley’s thoughts on an article by Mike Freeman of the Bleacher Report that discussed the circumstances under which wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded from the NFL Seattle Seahawks.

Mr. Freeman’s article claims that the Seahawks traded Harvin to the New York Jets because he incited a group of players against the Seahawk’s quarterback, Russell Wilson, for not being black enough.

Mr. Barkley, never shy to speak his mind, began a lengthy monologue by saying, “As I tell my white friends, we as black people, we’re never going to be successful, not because of you white people, but because of other black people. When you’re black, you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people. It’s a—It’s a dirty, dark secret; I’m glad it’s coming out.”

He further elaborated on the “dirty, dark secret” in the black community that “for some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough.”

He continued, “There are a lot of black people who are unintelligent, who don’t have…success. It’s best to knock a successful black person down because they’re intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school, and they’re successful.”

He also went after fellow blacks as being “the only ethnic group who say, ‘Hey, if you go to jail, it gives you street cred.’ It’s just typical BS that goes on when you’re black.”

Mr. Barkley is no stranger to controversial statements regarding black culture.

In response to the September arrest of NFL MVP Adrian Peterson for “reckless or negligent injury to a child,” Mr. Barkley said, “I’m from the South. Whipping is … we do that all the time. Every black parent in the South is gonna be in jail under those circumstances.”

He has also made aspirational statements regarding the future of black youth in the country. In 2008, he said, “I want young black kids to see Barack on television every day….We need to see more blacks who are intelligent, articulate, and who carry themselves with great dignity.”

Mr. Barkley joins other black celebrities such as Bill Cosby and Chris Rock in expressing similar sentiments.

The audio for the entire segment can be found on 94 WIP’s online Podcast from October 23rd titled: Charles Barkley Talks About Anything & Everything (here). The relevant segment starts at 14:52.

Below is the transcript for the segment:

Anthony Gargano:

Charles, I’m just curious, because you brought up the…hating the smart kid, right? The dumb kids hate the smart kid.

Charles Barkley:

Yes.

Anthony Gargano:

Did you see the Mike Freeman story about Russell Wilson?

Charles Barkley:

I heard that. I heard about it.

Anthony Gargano:

And, for those people listening, Mike Freeman wrote a piece about Russell Wilson where he quoted unnamed players saying, he wasn’t black enough. That he was too—too much of a company guy and that sort of thing.

Now Mike disagreed with the statement. But some of the players said that. Is that the same case where—why would you hate Russell Wilson?

Charles Barkley:

As I tell my white friends, we as black people, we’re never going to be successful, not because of you white people, but because of other black people. When you’re black, you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people. It’s a—It’s a dirty, dark secret; I’m glad it’s coming out. It comes out every few years. I wrote a big chapter in my book about it, to be honest with you.

I said, you know, when young black kids, you know, when they do well in school, the loser kids tell them, ‘Oh, you’re acting white.’ The kids who speak intelligently—

Anthony Gargano:

Right.

Charles Barkley:

They tell them, ‘You’re acting white.’ So it’s a dirty, dark secret in the black community.

One of the reasons we’re never going to be successful as a whole, because of other black people. And for some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough. If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent, and don’t break the law, you’re not a good black person. And it’s a dirty, dark secret, Anthony.

Most, I—I heard Stephen A. [Smith] talkin about it, and it, listen, I hate to bring white people into our crap, but as a black person, we all go through it when you’re successful. Uh, you know it’s like one of the reasons, you know, one of the reasons a lot of black players go broke is because when you’re successful your friends say to you, ‘Oh, you ain’t cool. You ain’t down with us anymore.’

Anthony Gargano:

Yeah

Charles Barkley:

And you end up giving up all your money to these damn losers, and you end up broke again.

Anthony Gargano:

Yeah.

Charles Barkley:

But it’s a dirty, dark secret in the black community. There are a lot of black people who are unintelligent, who don’t have, uh, success. It’s best to knock a successful black person down because they’re intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school, and they’re successful. And they don’t..if you think about it—

Anthony Gargano: Well it’s crabs in a barrel, right?

Charles Barkley: It’s crabs in a barrel. The thing that’s hap—we’re the only race that tell people if you don’t have street cred, with like, that means you been arrested—

Anthony Gargano: Right right right.

Charles Barkley: Like, like that’s a compliment. We’re the only ethnic group who say, ‘Hey, if you go to jail, it gives you street cred.’ It’s just typical BS that goes on when you’re black, man.

But don’t waste a lot of time on it please. Cuz it’s just so—Russell Wilson has a—you know it’s—I don’t know Russell Wilson. I met him and said hello, but just because he studies the playbook all the time, he doesn’t go out clubbin and things like that, I guess some of the other players, you see what happen to Percy Harvin, I guess they didn’t like the way he—they want him to do crazy stuff. He didn’t want to do it.