Charles Barkley, In White Makeup, Mocks Sammy Sosa (VIDEO)

UPDATE: Additional video of Barkley teasing Sosa is embedded below. He raised the subject by excitedly saying, "I know you want to get in the Hall of Fame, but going white ain't the way to go," and later issued a public plea to the former slugger, shouting "Sammy Sosa, you know I got love for you, man. Stop it! Stop it, Sammy Sosa!" Barkley then announced his plans to lighten his own skin: "I'm telling you man, I'm getting rejuvenated."

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In a bizarre moment during tonight's NBA doubleheader on TNT, analyst and former NBA power forward Charles Barkley sat as a makeup artist applied white cosmetics to his face. His colleague Kenny Smith shouted "Say it loud!" before continuing, "I'm black and I'm proud." Barkley then asked Smith, "If I become white, am I allowed to eat chicken and hamhocks?" The entire episode appeared to mock the recent photographs showing former baseball player Sammy Sosa's noticeably lighter skin.

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Comments

[timefortruth]

02:09 AM on 12/04/2009

...and when does the suspension begin? Crap like this ends careers. It's never acceptable.

[TheBlaqueProfessor]

07:38 AM on 11/21/2009

Albeit funny as hell, this is racist as hell as well. Come on Barkley! ESPN, what are you thinkin'?

[insightdeluxe]

12:56 AM on 11/17/2009

apart from stewart, colbert, and south park, best show on tv! these 3 need a prime time program!

[lilnyc]

09:09 PM on 11/14/2009

Hilarious. I love it!!!

[ECB]

06:27 PM on 11/14/2009

Funny ! Funny ! Funny !

[jasev01]

08:34 PM on 11/13/2009

Maybe I need to rejuvenate it maybe cheaper than getting tickets.

[hypnotoad72]

06:54 PM on 11/13/2009

It works both ways. Painting your face to match another ethnicity in order to mock is racism. Unless there's a really good rationalization to justify it, which I don't think exists in this case...

[bongstradamus]

06:27 PM on 11/13/2009

Barkley for President!

[somefool]

05:11 PM on 11/13/2009

This is quite bizarre, posting on HuffPo about sports. I don't know if I like these worlds colliding.

[somefool]

05:08 PM on 11/13/2009

I don't always agree with the Chuckster, but it's hard not like the him. The Round Mound of Rebound.

[Georgiapundit]

04:53 PM on 11/13/2009

Judging from some of these comments, DMs need some major help in the self esteem department:

SAY IT LOUD...

[RNAngel20]

04:03 PM on 11/13/2009

So how is this "whiteface" makeup less offensive than the Halloween costume "blackface"? It sure does appear to be a double standard to me.

[ItHasToBeSaid]

04:36 PM on 11/13/2009

Keep reading . . . with a little less attitude and a little more willingness to learn, you just might be enlightened . . .

[mypov123]

02:33 PM on 11/14/2009

Because lawd knows that some of the people here need to be enlightened lol.

[victorvelasco]

01:20 PM on 11/14/2009

no pun intended, but lighten up

[mypov123]

02:37 PM on 11/14/2009

Exactly, follow Charles Barkley's lead and "lighten up" (pun intended).

[ChironexFleckeri]

03:32 PM on 11/13/2009

LMAO! I'm as white as it gets. Guess I wanna be black. LOL!

I love Charles!

[GravitonX]

03:41 PM on 11/13/2009

Fanned.

[Justan Olfrend]

03:25 PM on 11/13/2009

what it says to me...is that the Republican "insensitivity gene" is universal...LOL

see all of the rest of us have something in common as well...(we're "normal")

[JimR]

03:14 PM on 11/13/2009

This is pretty funny!