MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: CBS commentator Charles Barkley looks on during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal between the Auburn Tigers and the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
There’s been a lot of debate over the play by Memphis Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks that left Golden State Warriors star Gary Payton II with a broken elbow. But Charles Barkley had a reaction that has a lot of people upset.
During TNT’s postgame coverage of the 106-101 Grizzlies win, Barkley defended Brooks for the play. Barkley said that he doesn’t believe Brooks is a dirty player and that the play was an accident.
“The code is we don’t try to hurt each other and Dillon Brooks has never proven to me he’s a dirty player. Sometimes you hit a guy and he gets hurt. I think that was an accident.”
As you can imagine, the reaction to this is pretty mixed. Some are agreeing with Barkley, while others believe that he’s effectively blaming the victim and using a double-standard by not applying that same rationale to others:
The play in question saw Dillon Brooks chase down Gary Payton II on a fast-break layup before hitting Payton in the head midair. Payton hit the ground hard and was down for several minutes before being helped off.
Brooks was ejected from the game after a review. But Payton left the game with a broken elbow.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was left fuming. And he shredded Brooks afterwards:
“I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Kerr said after the game, via ESPN. “There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy’s season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary’s elbow… He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code.”
We know where Charles Barkley stands. Where do you stand on the matter?
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