Amid reports of major recruiting scandals, NBA Hall of Fame’s Charles Barkley dismissed the notion that the NCAA is corrupt, and instead praised the organization for being a way for so many “young black kids” to get a free education.

The TNT NBA analyst admitted that the NCAA has some “issues,” but said providing young people with a free education is important.

“College basketball is great,” Barkley said to the reporter. “What about all the kids who get a good education who become great people? Like, yeah, that’s some shady stuff going on, but I always look at the big picture.”

“The NCAA has some issues, but what about all of those kids who go to college for free?” he added.

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