"Sir Charles" Barkley, former NBA star, is in trouble again... just the way he likes it. His latest comments regarding race had to to with his commentary on the state of Oklahoma saying it was "no place for black people." He then kept going with a funny comment saying, "The Oklahoma Sooners and Hornets were the only brothers in town." Make no mistake. Barkley has had a long career of making statements regarding race in an open forum. He has said things about both black and white people. He even once commented how the NBA was in "disarray" after a white ballplayer won the "slam-dunk" contest. Funny, but only due to his race could he get away with that comment. He even said seeing white people dance made him "nervous." Again, funny, but no white player would get away with it.

He has made the usual comments regarding blacks and unemployment saying about his retirement, " Just what America needs, another unemployed black man." He also said America is tough on black people but of course Barkley never seems to leave it.

The point of all of this really is not about his comments. Some of his comments are funny and some are a little mean-spirited. I could not go into all of his comments. However, as usual, if Barkley was a white player with a history of racial comments, he would be banned from the league and banned from announcing. To deny that is almost comical. Imagine a white, former star player like Larry Bird saying "watching black people play chess made him nervous" or "the NFL is in disarray with black quarterbacks?" He would be shown the door so fast his head would spin. Various politicians would decry the "racist" Bird and say it reflects what black people have to go through. In other words... the usual.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Barkley making some comments. But he knows it is the color of his skin that is protecting him. For that same protection to not go to a white ex-player is a disgrace and cowardly. For once I would like to see someone "of note" challenge it.

Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York