Charles Barkley to host a new TNT show about race, class and culture in America

TNT basketball analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has never backed away from an opportunity to share his opinion on America’s race and social issues. Now, he will be given a major platform to share that stance in a separate role from his Turner Sports duties.

TNT announced Sunday that it has approved a series for Barkley to discuss America’s “hot-button topics” with the working title of The Race Card.

The network said via philly.com:

“NBA legend and Inside the NBA analyst Charles Barkley has had enough. The America that he knew has lost its way, becoming mired in partisan politics, social divides and entrenched corporate interests. Now he hopes to get to the root of the problem in the new limited-run series The Race Card. TNT has ordered six hour-long episodes of the show, with plans to launch in early 2017.”

TNT continued in the statement:

“Each week, Barkley will take on the rapidly calcifying positions around today’s hot-button topics. He will seek out the sharpest and most varied viewpoints from today’s cultural leaders and tastemakers. He will then challenge and probe those ideas, even trying them out on himself. No idea presented on The Race Card will be left in the abstract. Barkley will put ideas on their feet, with real-world proof-of-concept tests that will engage people and expose the truth behind their closely held beliefs. In the end, Barkley will reach his own conclusions guided only by his own wits and common-sense wisdom.”

Barkley most recently defended his comments about the police shootings in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas. He said that there is blame to go around, but emphasized that the black community needs the police.

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