Stephen Jackson Ripped Into Charles Barkley For Being Fake About Kobe Bryant

Maybe you missed all this over the All Star Weekend, but on Friday Charles Barkley had this to say about Kobe

“Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players ever, and he had a flaw that we all know about,” Barkley told TODAY.

“You have to tell the picture in totality,” the Hall of Famer said.

“We’re not trying to make Kobe out to be no hero. We’re celebrating his basketball excellence. We understand what happened in Colorado,” he added, referring to the sexual assault allegations levied against Bryant when he was 24.

“That’s fair. But two things can be true.”

This has obviously been a touchy subject and it puts you in a weird spot because on one hand you want to celebrate Kobe for what he was as a basketball player, competitor, father, etc, but there is also stuff from his past that you can't ignore. I feel like it doesn't take away from how you may feel about Kobe and the want you may have to celebrate him as a player and a person, but it is a chapter in his book regardless. I think that's all Barkley was saying. 

Well Stephen Jackson is clearly not having it. Honestly this is why I love Stephen Jackson, because he doesn't hold back. He is as real and as honest as they come, and maybe there is some truth to what he said in that rant. Chances are Barkley or pretty much anyone wouldn't say that shit to Kobe's face. If there is one thing Stephen Jackson has no patience for it's being fake apparently and I can respect that. He tells it like it is and is real at all moments, which is unusual in today's world. Plus he was definitely smoking a blunt in this video which makes it even better.

This rant also made me think of other wonderful Stephen Jackson internet moments, like the time he came out and said there was a mass text around the NBA that said "don't fuck with Melo"

Or the time he went after Andrew Wiggins and his brother

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Or went he went after Chandler Parsons and the Grizzlies 

Pretty much every time Stephen Jackson hits record it's must watch stuff. It's why we should all be thankful we live in this era where everyone has a platform to talk to the masses. I think he makes some points about Barkley being fake, but at the same time I think both things can be true. You can talk about Kobe being a legend and all the great work he's done and still acknowledge what happened in CO. Also you have to factor in if Barkley is on TV and they are doing a tribute to Kobe, he's not going to be some asshole and be like "ehhh ya know he wasn't that great a guy, remember CO". I don't know if that's being fake or just using your brain and sensing the moment, but it appears that Stephen Jackson is not having any of it.