NBA legend Charles Barkley on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Thursday said he “agrees” with the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial because there there wasn’t “enough evidence to charge him.” He also took a shot at the media for giving both black and white racists a “platform to vent their ignorance” in the aftermath of the trial.
Barkley said some “racial profiling” probably did occur the night Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. However, he later faulted Martin for “[flipping] the switch” and beating up Zimmerman. The former NBA great recognized his thoughts were “probably not a popular opinion among most people.”
“Just looking at the evidence, I agree with the verdict. I just feel bad because I don’t like when race gets out in the media because I don’t think the media has a pure heart as I call it,” Barkley added. “Racism is wrong in any, shape or form. A lot of black people are racist too. I think sometimes when people talk about racism, they say only white people are racist, but I think black people are too. I don’t think the media has clean hands.”
After reiterating that Martin was racially profiled by Zimmerman, Barkley said “Trayvon Martin, God rest his soul, he did flip the switch and start beating the hell out of Mr. Zimmerman.”
He then expressed his disappointment in the fact that the Zimmerman trial provided “every white person and black person who is racist the platform to vent their ignorance.”
“That’s the thing that bothered me the most,” he added. “I watched this trial closely. I watched these people on television talking about it. A lot of these people have a hidden agenda. They want to have their racist views, whether they are white or black.”
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