Charles Barkley never has enjoyed a reputation as a profound social commentator.

He’s a basketball hall of famer known more for his dunks than his verbal decorum.

However, he spoke with blunt truth about a group of people who have emerged as the universal bad guys in the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision against indicting a white police officer who shot a young black man to death in Ferguson, Mo., this past summer.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/charles-barkley-calls-ferguson-looters-scumbags/ar-BBgdQsh

He spoke about the looters who protested the grand jury’s findings, telling the New York Daily News:

“Those aren’t black people, those are scumbags,” the NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst said of the rioters, who targeted mostly minority-owned businesses. “There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning down police cars.”

At issue is the aftermath of the case involving the shooting death of Michael Brown by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. The investigation produced a lot of contradictory evidence about whether Brown was surrendering, whether he was fighting with Wilson, whether Wilson was threatened physically or whether the officer profiled the young man only because of the color of his skin.

Agree or not with the decision, the response by many in the community went far beyond what is decent.

Barkley happens to agree with what the grand jury decided.

His larger point, though, is in condemning the irrational and idiotic reaction by the looters.

He’s right. They’re scumbags.