This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Saturday denounced Roy Moore, the Republican Alabama Senate candidate who faces allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, for his ties to “white separatism”.

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Barkley, an Alabama native who was being honored at his alma mater, Auburn University, gave a strong denunciation of Moore’s ties to former Trump campaign manager and White House strategist Steve Bannon.

Moore was not fit for office, he said, even before he became the subject to claims of sexual involvement with teenage girls when he was in his 30s, allegations which he denies.



Speaking to NBC News, Barkley said: “Roy Moore is running with Steve Bannon as his righthand man who is a white separatist. I’m not even going to get into the women stuff. But the guy, how can you be a white separatist and represent all the constituents in your state?

“I mean, everybody is going crazy [over] this sexual allegations but Roy Moore to me, when he brought in Steve Bannon should have been disqualified.”

Barkley added that his views have “nothing to do with being a Democrat or a Republican or a liberal or a conservative”.

“The guy has a guy running with him who is a white separatist that is immoral and wrong,” he said.

Bannon oversees the controversial Breitbart News website, which he once called “the platform for the alt-right”, an umbrella term used to cover rightwing groups including white nationalists and separatists. Bannon has denied that the alt-right is racist.

Since leaving the White House, Bannon has led an effort to purge the Republican party of “establishment” candidates backed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

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Bannon campaigned for Moore in his primary race against Luther Strange, the appointed holder of the seat once held by Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions. Strange was supported by Donald Trump.

Play Video 1:06 Leigh Corfman on her encounter with Roy Moore at age 14 - video

On Saturday Doug Jones, Moore’s Democratic opponent in Alabama, sidestepped Barkley’s comments.

“We’ll I’ve told the media I’m not going to call people names,” he said. “That’s not my style. We’re just not going to do that. We’re going to talk about issues. We’re going to accept the Barkley endorsement today and be real happy about it.”

Jones and Moore are in a close race in the deep red state, in a campaign roiled by repeated allegations that Moore pursued teenage girls 30 or 40 years ago. One woman alleges that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14.

A number of top Republicans have distanced themselves from Moore and called for him to drop out of the race. President Trump, however, has backed him.