Charles Barkley: "We've got to do better as black people"

DALLAS, July 12 (UPI) -- Former NBA superstar Charles Barkley willed weight behind words once again Tuesday.

This time, the outspoken Hall of Famer spoke about recent police shootings and the attack on officers in Dallas, on ESPN's Dan Le Batard Show.

"The cops have made some mistakes, but that doesn't give us the right to riot and shoot cops," Barkley said on the show. "We need the cops, especially in the black community. We as black people, we've got to do better. We never get mad when black people kill each other, which that has always bothered me...I've always said if we as black people want more respect, we have to give each other respect. You can't demand respect from white people and the cops if you don't respect each other. We've got to do better as black people."

"The cops have made some mistakes, but there's a lot of blame to go around. But I'm not going to get on TV and yell like all these other idiots."

Barkley also acknowledged his own imperfection, while offering up his opinion of "the media."

"I'm not perfect," Barkley said. "I'm not trying to be perfect. But you have to ask yourself, 'Are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?' I respect and admire what cops do. My bodyguard is a cop—a black cop. We talk about situations all the time. One of the problems with this stuff on the media is that all these people are Monday Morning Quarterbacks...Everybody is saying what I would do or what I should do. I think some of these cops are panicking under pressure."

Barkley made news late last year when he called Donald Trump's supporters "losers." He also called Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey an "idiot" for using analytics in the NBA. This year, after getting into a social media spat with Charles Oakley, he said that Oakley was "not important enough" to think about.