'Driving while black': Charles Barkley and ESPN's Michael Wilbon disagree about the reasons for Tyreek Hill's arrest

Sports analysts Michael Wilbon and Charles Barkley took opposite approaches to a recent police interaction involving an NFL player. One blamed racism, while the other said the media was race-baiting.

After Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was detained by Miami-Dade police before a game, bodycam footage was released showing officers pulling the player from his car and handcuffing him on the pavement.

The video spawned debate over whether there was excessive force on the part of the police officers or if Hill was simply uncooperative and disrespectful.

'You don't have to provoke police, particularly in certain places, to get dragged out of your car.'

ESPN's Wilbon firmly took the position that Hill was guilty of "driving while black" and, as such, was subjected to racism.

"I don't have any questions. I'm old enough, lived long enough, and have driven while black long enough," Wilbon said on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption."

"The police acted with excessive force," Wilbon continued. "If Tyreek Hill rolls down his window, he might have diminished the chances of that happening."

Wilbon went on, "I say might because when you're 'driving while black' … you don't have to provoke police, particularly in certain places, to get dragged out of your car. So he might have gotten pulled out of his car anyway."

Wilbon concluded by saying multiple scenarios could be true but that parents will still have to speak to their "16-year-old-son" about how to properly cooperate with police when "driving while black."

It should be noted that the police officer who was the most aggressive with the NFL wide receiver appeared to have a Hispanic accent.

'One thing I hate when we put stuff in the media and we let guys who race-bait start throwing things out there.'

NBA great Charles Barkley had a completely different take while appearing on a Fox Sports 910 radio show in Phoenix.

When asked for his opinion on the incident, Barkley said that while he wasn't sure what happened, he thought the incident "clearly escalated quickly."

Then Barkley pre-emptively shot down a race argument before the hosts on the "Roc and Manuch" show could potentially bring it up.

"I hate that we're gonna throw it in the media because you know the guys are gonna quickly go to race, and it bothers me."

"We got so many fools in the media who love to play the race card. I said, 'Wait a minute, they just did the same thing to Scottie Scheffler.'"

Barkley was referring to No.1-ranked golfer and recent PGA Tour champion Scottie Scheffler, who was arrested, booked, and charged with a felony before a tournament in May.

"The one thing you can't do as a celebrity, you can't say, 'Do you know who I am?' You say, 'Yes, sir,' cooperate 100%."

Hill had said in a previous press conference that he never told officers that he was an NFL player or that he was a famous athlete.

Barkley continued, "I don't know what happened, but when we let these fools on TV and radio start talking about it, they go straight to, 'Was it racism?' I'm like wait a minute now, we don't know that. I saw the police report say he was uncooperative."

"But the one thing I hate when we put stuff in the media and we let guys who race-bait start throwing things out there, like I said, wait a minute, the same thing just happened to Scottie Scheffler, who actually went and got booked! He went down to the big house," Barkley finished.

While the NFL player's legal team said lawyers are exploring possible action, the president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association said that Hill was "not immediately cooperative with the officers on scene."

The union official also said Hill "refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground."

"Once the situation was sorted out within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was free to leave," the statement concluded.

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