Charles Barkley Talks Race Relations, 1996 Dream Team and More on B/R Radio

In 1992, the United States men's Olympic basketball team coined the term Dream Team. To hear Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley tell it, all it took was four years for that dream to turn into a nightmare."For the whole couple months, [the 1992 team] got along like it was the greatest thing in the world. Nobody had an ego," Barkley told Ric Bucher andNicole Zaloumis of SiriusXMBleacher Report Radio on Tuesday. "In '96, guys started complaining about playing timeguys started [saying] 'well I should be starting.' And I'm like 'wait a minute, ya'll [aren't] even that good compared to the team I used to be on.'"Barkley stated unnamed players would also skip practices as a protest to not starting or because they were unsatisfied with their minutes."It was not a lot of fun hearing guys bitch and complain all the time about who should be starting," Barkley said. "In '96, it was a nightmare. Guys complained about playing time and starting the whole time. I hated it."Barkley also took time out for an extended discussion of race relations, which has become the foremost topic in sports culture over the last few weeks. While praising athletes for their recent actionsnotably Michael Jordan for his $2 million donation to community-police relations organizations and LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade for theirESPYs openingBarkley was quick to point out we should not foist too much responsibility on athletes."It's easy to get on TV and say you're an activist, but what have you actually done to help the black community'" Barkley said. "I had no problem with [the ESPYs opening], but we have to stop expecting these black players to raise our families."James, Paul, Anthony and Wade made their statement on gun violence and race relations after the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in police-related killings in July. Barkley pointed to better training and a more neutral investigative process as ways to avoid similar deaths in the future."We're asking cops to come into volatile situations and solve our problems, it's terrifying," Barkley said. "Better training is needed. [We] can't let the police judge themselves; they'll never say an accidental shooting was a murder. [We] need an independent panel."In a lighter moment, Barkley alsobrieflyresponded to criticism offered by former NBA point guard Jason Williams. White Chocolate offered a pointed rebuke of Barkley's criticism of Kevin Durant, calling Barkley a "loser" in a Q&A."Nobody wanted his ass [Barkley] on their team because he was a loser," Williams said, per Mike Ortiz Jr. of Dystnow.com. "So thats what I think about that."Barkley's response: "Now I have to respond to Jason Williams' ... I'm never gonna get to the point where I have to respond to Jason Williams."So, basically, Barkley is Drake, and Williams is Joe Budden. While it takes an extended diss for Williams to get publicity, Barkley can swat his competition away with a couple of off-handed lines. Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.
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