The "Round Mound" Expounds

I'm a big fan of Charles Barkley. His analysis on Inside the NBA is always inciteful (well, except for his Mavs fixation), and his extracurricular shenigans never fail to entertain.

But I like Barkley most when he turns his eye to the world beyond basketball.

In the most recent issue of The New Republic (yeah, I subscribe), Barkley speaks candidly about racism, classism and Sharptonism.

Here are a couple highlights:

Q: In terms of this rap thing, you were famous for saying that you didn't want to be a role model. Do you think that rappers who might be role models to kids have a responsibility to--have you changed your opinion on this subject at all?

A: We are really struggling in the black community because all our kids want to play sports or be rappers. And they don't even think about being doctors or lawyers or engineers or teachers or firemen or policemen. That is what I tried to do. And everyone is figuring this shit out now. I figured it out when I made that commercial back then. Our kids are getting washed. They are confused. When I go to speak at these schools, 99 percent of these kids want to play sports. They aren't gonna play sports. And that's when I went to Nike about making that commercial. Now as far as the rap thing, I am not sure how I feel about that. ... I used to say it is just music. Don't these people have any common sense? But now I am starting to think, maybe they don't have common sense.

Q: About the Duke case--

A: It was racism. Racism works both ways. The black people are racist. The guy was an idiot--Nifong. But those people assume the white guys were guilty and the black girl was telling the truth. That is reverse racism. Those people were full of shit down there. You have got to be really fair when you talk about race. You can't allow black people to be racist.

Q: Obviously everyone feels badly for these kids. But you hear people say, look, there are black people in America who are wrongly accused every day.

A: But two wrongs don't make a right. That don't justify it. You have to look at things individually.

Q: But does it say something about society--

A: That we are a racist society.

Love his candor. And I wish what he said about the Duke case would get wider play. Helluva guy. (Though he should really lay off those donuts.)