NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is world-renowned for saying stupid and reprehensible things, but his latest attempt at “humor” might be his worst yet.
On Tuesday, reporter Alexi McCammond threw Twitter into a tailspin when she revealed an unfavorable encounter that she had with the award-winning Inside the NBA analyst:
“Just FYI Charles Barkley told me tonight ‘I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you,’” she tweeted. “And then when I objected to that he told me ‘I couldn’t take a joke.’”
Naturally, this drew an immediate response from both fans and detractors of Barkley who made it a point to not only opine on the situation but delve into the 56-year-old’s checkered past:
In response to the backlash, USA Today reports that Barkley issued a statement on Wednesday through Turner Sports:
“My comment was inappropriate and unacceptable,” he said. “It was an attempted joke that wasn’t funny at all. There’s no excuse for it and I apologize.”
However, McCammond, who has been threatened multiple times since coming forward with Barkley’s remarks, believes his apology is not enough.
“The comments Charles Barkley made to me are not acceptable. Threats of violence are not a joke, & no person deserves to be hit or threatened like that,” she tweeted. “Silence only allows the culture of misogyny to fester. And those kinds of comments don’t merit off-the-record protections.”
No word on whether Turner Sports will penalize the 11-time NBA All-Star for his comments, but it’s more than clear that Barkley’s penchant for testing his boundaries has worn out its welcome.