When Charles Barkley's crass joke about women took it a step too far as per a female reporter - "I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you!"

Over the years, Charles Barkley has been known to say and do some outlandish things. And there are some instances where the Hall of Fame big man took things a bit too far.

For the most part, Barkley has a fun-loving personality. Even during his playing days, he always commanded the room and knew how to entertain those around him. Now, he provides comedic relief on TNT's "Inside the NBA" with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.

One instance that Barkley likely wishes he had back is a comment he made to a female reporter. While he certainly didn't mean it with harmful intent, the one-time MVP insinuated hitting a woman.

"Just FYI Charles Barkley told me tonight 'I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you,' and then when I objected to that he told me I 'couldn’t take a joke,' Alexi McCammond tweeted.

The comment was made because Alexi McCammond caught the NBA legend in a lie.

Charles Barkley should know better making a comment of this nature

For someone who has been in front of a microphone for so long, Charles Barkley should know better than to make comments like this. Even though he didn't mean for it to be malicious, jokes of this nature are not comical in any circumstance.

Not long after the incident, Barkley made sure to issue an apology to Alexi McCammond for what he said. In his statement, he said that there is no excuse for a comment of such a harsh nature to be made.

On Wednesday, Barkley described the remark as “inappropriate and unacceptable” in a statement issued by Turner Sports on his behalf.

“It was an attempted joke that wasn’t funny at all,” the statement read. “There’s no excuse for it and I apologize.”

Dating to his playing days, Barkley has never been tied up in a domestic violence scandal. Instead, he's had a successful marriage and keeps his personal life rather private.

Barkley met his wife Maureen Blumhardt during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers. The two tied the knot in 1989 and had their first child in that same year. To this day, the couple is still together.

Instances like this are examples of when Barkley's personality can get the better of him. He has built a reputation of saying outlandish things, and sometimes they go to far. However, he was mature enough to admit that what he did was wrong and apologized.