Sports leagues in the U.S. are currently engaged in a battle tobcome the most ‘woke.’

According to The Blaze, the NBA has allowed players to showcase social justice messages like ‘Black Lives Matter,’ ‘Equality,’ or ‘How Many More?’ on the back of their jerseys once the season resumes.

On the other hand, the NFL has gone out to say it was wrong to oppose gestures like taking the knee during the national anthem. 

11-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley, is worried that in the middle of this woke-off, the real essence of racial justice is somehow getting lost.

Missing The Point

“I think we’re missing the point,” the sports commentator told CNBC. “We need police reform, we need prison reform. My concern is turning this into a circus instead of trying to do some good stuff.”

He explained that leagues and their players should channel all their energy on effecting real, lasting change instead of focusing on slogans and keeping track of who kneels and who doesn’t during the anthem. 

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“The Democrats and the Republicans can’t even talk about police reform, he told Daily Wire. 

“That’s the number one thing they should do before they do anything else. That’s something we have been talking about since Kapernick kneeled, and these clowns in the Democratic Party and Republican Party, that’s the number one thing they should do before they do anything else.”

According to Fox News, Barkley added that the media plays a huge part in the ‘circus’ by making such a big deal out of taking the knee and messages printed on buses and jerseys.

Break From Reality

More than anything, Sir Charles is worried that excessive politicking might turn people away from the entire idea of sporting events.

He pointed out that the world may be fragmented into factions and sides in the political spectrum, but at least “sports used to be a place where fans could go get away from reality.”

“The last thing they want to do is turn on the television and hear arguments all the time. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the public reacts.”