Charles Barkley Believes The U.S. Government Should Apologize For Slavery

The topic of reparations has once again gained traction following activist-author Ta-Nehisi Coates speaking at a U.S. House hearing on reparations. During the hearing, Coates clashed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who stated a day earlier, “I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea. We’ve tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We’ve elected an African American president.”

There are a number of celebrities who have spoken out in favor of reparations, but when TMZ caught up with former NBA star Charles Barkley, he wasn’t sure how such a mandate would play out. The outspoken NBA on TNT commentator has often shared his political opinions and criticisms regarding American policies, and in the case of slavery in the United States, he believes that the government should, at the very least, issue an apology.

“It’s a serious subject,” Barkley said of reparations. “It’s a very serious subject…I don’t know how you would do it, that’s the problem. It’s a very serious subject and I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong answer. It can go either way, ’cause I don’t know how you would do that actually.”

“Too many people,” he continued. “I don’t know who would get it, who would not get it.” The chatty cameraman kept encouraging the conversation as Barkley noted, “The government should apologize, but that has nothing to do with reparations, and I just don’t know how you would do that.”