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Charles Barkley Disagrees With Kyrie Irving And Dwight Howard, Says It Would Be 'Stupid' For Players Not To Play

Barkley said it would be a "catastrophic mistake" for NBA players to sit out the season.

Melissa Rohlin

Charles Barkley thinks it would be a huge mistake for NBA players to sit out the season out of fear that it would distract from the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving and Lakers' Dwight Howard recently spoke out against the resumption of the NBA season because they believe it would take attention away from the fight against racial injustices and police brutality.

But Barkley, an analyst for TNT, strongly disagrees with their perspective. 

“I have no idea what Kyrie and Dwight are talking about,” Barkley said on ESPN’s Get Up. “But, it’ll be a catastrophic mistake not to play.”

Barkley said it would behoove players to take advantage of having millions of eyes on them, instead of fading away into the background. 

“I think it would be stupid to not play,” Barkley said. “For two reasons: No. 1, if they don’t play, they’re going to be out of sight, out of mind for the rest of the year. There won’t be no cameras following [them].

“LeBron [James] is probably the most famous athlete in the United States. He won’t be visible anywhere. So out of sight, out of mind. Also, these guys have got to realize, this money ain’t gonna come back and they’re gonna lose billions of dollars that the players can use to go into their own communities and do some great stuff.”

James has yet to comment on whether he thinks players should take the court at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex on July 30 amid the various discussions around the league that have stemmed from nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, by a white police officer on May 25 in Minneapolis. 

But according to Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, his perspective will be deeply influential. 

"Hoopers say what y’all want," Beverley tweeted Sunday. "If @KingJames said he hooping. We all hooping. Not Personal only BUSINESS #StayWoke."

Howard and Lakers guard Avery Bradley were on a conference call led by Irving on Friday that included more than 80 NBA players in which they discussed concerns over the expected 22-team resumption.

Howard went on to say in a statement to CNN that he wants to prioritize "My People" over competing for his first NBA championship, adding, "Basketball, or entertainment period, isn’t needed at this moment, and will only be a distraction." 

Bradley, a co-leader of a players coalition with Irving, told ESPN that he wants to hear that the NBA will take action before players go to Orlando, including hiring more black head coaches and front office executives and partnering with black-owned businesses and arena vendors. 

"We don't need to say more," Bradley told ESPN. "We need to find a way to achieve more. Protesting during an anthem, wearing T-shirts is great, but we need to see real actions being put in to the works."

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Melissa Rohlin
MELISSA ROHLIN

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