Many throughout the United States are outraged right now due to the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. Arbery was gunned down by two vigilantes while he was out for a jog while Floyd was killed by a police officer. Both of these killings were filmed and posted to social media where they eventually went viral and led to widespread outrage and protest.
Today, NBA legend Charles Barkley spoke out about these senseless killings and expressed deep sadness for what is going.
“I always feel uncomfortable talking about race because I think very few people have what I call a pure heart. What I mean by a pure heart I mean you have to go into a conversation I don’t have my mind made up, I just want to be fair and honest,” Barkley said. “I just feel sadness about the situation in Georgia: kid out for a jog, he ends up dying. No one wants to see a kid die. And that should never happen. There’s no excuses, that should never happen.”
Barkley went on to say that Floyd's death is particularly disturbing and that while he doesn't have ill will towards the police, he simply doesn't understand why the cop would do what he did.
“The thing in Minnesota is really distressing,” Barkley said. “Clearly the man is subdued. And like I say, I always try to give the cops the benefit of the doubt because I don’t have the courage to in their shoes. But man, that cannot happen under any circumstances whatsoever.”
Barkley's comments have been echoed by many over the last few days and all we can hope for right now is that real changes are eventually made, and fast.