'I know what I said so keep my name out your mouth' - Former NBA star Stephen Jackson hits back at Charles Barkley

A war of words is afoot between former NBA star Stephen Jackson and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Stephen Jackson posted a video on his Instagram account warning Barkley to not speak about things he is unaware of. This comes after Barkley called out Stephen Jackson among other black celebrities from making antisemitic comments.

Charles Barkley spoke against Stephen Jackson on his show, NBA on TNT, saying:

"Y'all want racial equality. We all do. I don't understand how insulting another group helps our cause."

Barkley further added :

"We can't allow black people to be prejudiced also. Especially if we're asking for while folks to respect us, give us economic opportunity and things like that. I'm so disappointed in these men but I don't understand how you beat hatred with more hatred."

NBA great Charles Barkley

Barkley emphasized on his opinion on the matter saying:

"I ain't never gonna say something bad about another ethnic group. Never, ever. That's not in my heart. That's not in my soul. That's not in my DNA."

This entire narrative began with NFL player DeSean Jackson posting antisemitic statements, attributed to Adolf Hitler, on his Instagram page. While his team, the Philadelphia Eagles immediately denounced his statements, a number of black celebrities including former NBA player Stephen Jackson rose to his defense claiming that he 'spoke the truth'.

When there was widespread backlash against his statements, Stephen Jackson apologized for his statements in a CNN interview saying:

"I stated I could have changed my words. There’s nothing that I said that I support any of that. There’s nothing I said that I hate anybody. I apologize for my words and I could have switched up. That’s the end of it. I love everybody."

However, he later doubled down on his initial statement with a post on Instagram saying:

"Your races pain doesn't hurt more than the next races pain."

Stephen Jackson has been one of the key NBA stars leading the way for the Black Lives Matter movement since the demise of his friend George Floyd at the hands of the police. However, due to these recent comments, he has caught heavy flak from many critics for endangering the cause of the BLM movement.

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NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks out against antisemitism

Laker and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Over the past few days, Stephen Jackson has been defending his statements on social media. He was called out by NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who wrote an article for The Hollywood Reporter.

In the article, he calls out black celebrities in Hollywood and sports who by posting antisemitic tweets were endangering the future of the BLM movement.

Abdul-Jabbar went on to highlight each case of antisemitism and explained the dangers of perpetuating such extremist views. He ended his article with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”

The argument between Stephen Jackson and Charles Barkley continues to unfold as people remain divided on this issue. Stephen Jackson may have to deal with the fallout of these statements in the coming days.

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