Charles Barkley Calls for ‘Idiot’ Kyrie Irving’s Suspension Over Anti-Semitic Post: ‘The NBA Dropped The Ball’

NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley called for NBA commissioner Adam Silver to suspend Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving for his anti-Semitic posts.

Irving posted and then deleted a clip on Twitter from a documentary titled “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” The film contained many anti-Semitic tropes, and Alex Jones promoted it. Irving got into a back-and-forth with ESPN reporter Nick Friedell and denied using his tweet to promote the film.

Irving faced protests Monday night when eight fans sat courtside at the Nets game against the Indiana Pacers and wore shirts that read “Fight anti-Semitism.”

Barkley felt the NBA and Silver should have suspended Irving for his atrocious tweet.

“I think the NBA dropped the ball,” Barkley said. “I think he should have been suspended. I think Adam should have suspended him. First of all, Adam’s Jewish; ‘you can’t take my $40 million and insult my religion. If you gon insult me, you have the right, but I have the right to say no. You’re not going to take my $40 million and insult my religion.’ I think the NBA, they made a mistake.”

Barkley listed the actions of other players suspended by the NBA in similar situations. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined by the NBA $40,000 when he used homophobic slurs to describe a group of people in an Instagram live video.

“We have suspended people and fined people who have made homophobic slurs, and that was the right thing to do,” Barkley added. “I think of you insult the black community; you should be suspended or fined heavily. I see they did the same thing to the kid in Minnesota this year when he made the gay slur. I think you should get suspended or fined.”

Barkley believes the league should have taken action against Irving.

“I think him acknowledging the Alex Jones things; something should have happened with that too because that dude’s crazy,” Barkley continued. “I can’t believe we ain’t talking about that; we’re talking about this idiot.”

Barkley doubled his claim that the NBA should discipline Irving, and the league had no one to blame but themselves.

“I blame the NBA; he should have been suspended,” Barkley said.

Host Ernie Johnson tried to reason with Barkley to explain that the NBA and the Nets had an open discussion about Irving.

“Conversations are continuing with the Brooklyn Nets, with the NBA now,” Johnson replied.

“It’s too late now,” Barkley added.

Barkley explained why it is too late for the NBA to discipline Irving.

“The reason it’s too late; the NBA is giving into peer pressure,” Barkley said. “If one of our players do something, they have the right; the team, or the league, has to do something immediately. If you just give in to peer pressure, that’s the problem I have. This should have been handled already.”

Watch above via NBA on TNT.