Charles Barkley Brings The Heat To NBA Commish Adam Silver Over Uptick Of Domestic Violence Cases Among Players
The NBA has a domestic violence problem, and NBA-TNT analyst Charles Barkley couldn't stay silent during a sit-down with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver joined the Inside the NBA crew on Tuesday ahead of the Lakers-Nuggets tip-off to kick off the new season.
Charles Barkley Brings The Heat, NBA Commish Dodges
Barkley pressed Adam Silver about the league's problem with domestic violence following a rough year for the NBA on that very topic.
It was the latest showcase of fearless common sense by Barkley, who's always asking the tough questions despite being the comic relief on the Inside the NBA panel.
“There’s a couple of disturbing incidents of domestic violence occurring in the NBA right now,” Barkley asked Silver.
Barkley apparently halted a commercial break to ask Silver the hard-pressing question. The scene highlighted how spineless the NBA media is and how we need more common sense, like Barkley's, than ESPN's softball coverage (see: Jalen Rose interviewing Ja Morant).
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Chuck continued, “What are we doing to address that? You can't put your hands on women. We should be at the forefront of sports when it comes to men hitting women. What are we as a league going to do about that?”
WATCH:
Expectedly, Silver gave a non-answer to Charles Barkley's sharp questioning.
Rather than condemning the alarming behavior of NBA players, Silver gave a bloated answer on tightening their league conduct policy.
Silver responded,
“That’s an area where we’re not looking to compete against other leagues. … Our players’ association, credit to them, this wasn’t adversarial. We put in place a new program for how we deal with, first of all, accusations of domestic violence even before they are prosecuted.
"Part of it goes to training of our players, counseling of our players to make sure they understand during high-stress situations, never resort to violence against anyone. We’re addressing. We have state of the art counseling professionals dealing with our players. But of course, if a guy does cross the line, the consequences are enormous.”
Adam Silver, NBA Faces A Growing Player Conduct Problem
The NBA has been notably generous to athletes who get arrested. As one of the more player-friendly leagues in American sports, the NBA's policies on players carry plenty of leeway, including players facing severe domestic violence claims.
Notable cases of domestic violence in the past year include Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges and former Houston Rockets guard, Kevin Porter, Jr.
The cases showcased a complete fault in judgment both by the NBA players and the league's response.
In November 2022, Bridges entered a plea deal with his accuser to avoid jail time instead of calling for three years of probation. After a year of sitting out, Bridges is back on the Charlotte Hornets.
Kevin Porter, Jr.'s felony domestic assault arrest has not showcased the full long-term ramifications. Despite mixed accounts regarding Porter's assault case, the Rockets distanced themselves from the troubled player, whose days in the league have been ailed by bad conduct.
Still, as a talented guard, KPJ's days of playing are far from over, as the league continually values skill over scandal. The players exhibit bad decision-making, and the NBA's responses haven't been firm enough.
Then there's Ja Morant, carrying a long list of troubling behavior with little response to show from the NBA. The league assigned Morant a 25-game suspension after multiple instances of brandishing a gun on social media. At the time, Morant also faced heat for his volatile off-the-court behavior.
Most fans found the Morant suspension light, minus the player-friendly media, which probably didn't appreciate Barkley's cavalier line of questioning for Silver.
Don't expect to see this Barkley highlight on ESPN.