Charles Barkley is not holding back about what he wants to see the NBA do a better job of doing in the future. On “Inside The NBA“‘s first episode of the 2023-24 season on Oct. 24, Barkley asked commissioner Adam Silver a straight-up question.
“I don’t care, he [producer] says [to] go to commercial, but I’ve got a serious question for you,” Barkley said. “There have been a couple of disturbing incidents with domestic violence in the NBA right now. What are we doing to address that?”
The two notable alleged domestic violence incidents reported within the past year are former Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. and Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges. Porter was arrested in September and accused of punching girlfriend and WNBA free agent Kysre Gondrezick repeatedly in the face. The police report claimed Gondrezick had a cut above her right eye, which caused bruising, substantial pain and a broken bone. The report also claimed Porter squeezed Gondrezick’s neck, which led to difficulty breathing, redness and bruising, according to a criminal complaint. On Oct. 18, Gondrezick posted a statement on social media denying the claims Porter ever physically abused her.
Bridges was charged with domestic violence in June 2022, according to TMZ Sports. He was accused of getting into a physical altercation with the mother of his children. Months later, the mother of his children defended Bridges, said he wasn’t a “woman beater” and that he deserved a second chance.
“Again, that’s an area where we’re not looking to compete against other leagues when you say, ‘forefront,’ ” Silver said. “I think all the leagues are trying to address this issue, but our players’ association, this wasn’t adversarial, we put in place a new program for how we deal with accusations of domestic violence, even before they’re prosecuted. [A] part of [it is] training up our players, counseling our players to make sure they understand in high-stress situations, obviously, never resort to violence against anyone. So we’re addressing it. We have state-of-the-art counselors dealing with our players, but of course, if it crosses the line, the consequences are going to be enormous.”
Charles Barkley asks Adam Silver about the domestic violence issues within the NBA pic.twitter.com/dhU73K4MGO
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 24, 2023
