Kenny Smith Writes Open Letter to Charles Barkley, Responds to Him Calling Ferguson Protesters "Scumbags"

"Inside the NBA" should be interesting tonight.

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Image via Complex Original
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Over the last few days, Charles Barkley has made several controversial comments related to what has gone down in Ferguson, Mo. recently. First, Barkley did an interview with Philadelphia sports radio station 97.5 The Fanatic and said that he agreed with a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown earlier this year.

"The true story came out from the grand jury testimony," Barkley said, before noting that "three or four witnesses, who were black, said exactly what the cop [Wilson] said."

Then, he insinuated that black people need to respect police officers who work in their communities more.

"We have to be really careful with the cops, because if it wasn't for the cops, we would be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods," he said. "Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops?"

And finally, he referred to all of the people who protested in Ferguson after hearing the grand jury's decision as "scumbags."

"Those aren't black people, those are scumbags," he said. "There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people's businesses, burning down police cars."

Barkley also reiterated much of what he said on 97.5 The Fanatic during a subsequent interview with CNN and said that "there is a reason that [police officers] racially profile us in the way they do."

So last night, Barkley's Inside the NBA sidekick Kenny Smith decided to write an open letter to his fellow TNT employee/friend. In the letter, Smith starts by admitting that Barkley is the greatest power forward to ever play the game of basketball and also refers to him as "the most entertaining person in sports television." But he criticizes Barkley for some of the comments that he's made and specifically takes issue with Barkley calling Ferguson protesters "scumbags." He also tells Barkley that he needs to understand what the real issue is when it comes to the situation in Ferguson as well as other parts of the country.

"I respect that you have an opinion on Ferguson," he writes. "And here's mine. The question must be asked: Why is there so much distrust in the police and the legal system from the African American community? Without manifesting what the effects of slavery still have today, Dec 1st still marks only 59 years since Rosa Parks sat on that memorable bus. Many of our parents and grandparents have lived through those times and have passed those stories on to all of us. Those civil right changes were at one time the law! They were not illegal."

You can read Smith's entire open letter here. Barkley hasn't responded to it yet. But both Smith and Barkley are scheduled to appear side-by-side on Inside the NBA tonight, so we're sure that they will discuss the letter—and so much more—at the top of the show. Stay tuned to see what both of them have to say.

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[via For The Win]

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