Charles Barkley has issued an apology for a comment he made to a female political reporter about hitting her, though it was meant as a joke and the conversation was off the record.
Axios reporter Alexi McCammond wrote on Twitter Tuesday night that when she questioned Barkley on his indecisiveness over the Democratic presidential hopefuls, Barkley told her “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you.” McCammond says when she objected to his remarks, Barkley told her she “couldn’t take a joke.”
Barkley, a former NBA player who works as a basketball analyst for TNT’s Inside the NBA, issued an apology on Wednesday through TurnerSportsPR on Twitter saying his comment was “inappropriate and unacceptable.”
Their conversation was off the record, dealing with Barkley’s Democratic preferences, McCammond said in the series of tweets about the incident.
McCammond said “there are almost no times” in which she would break an off-the-record agreement, but that this particular instance warranted publicizing.
Barley said in the statement that “it was an attempted joke that wasn’t funny at all. There’s no excuse for it and I apologize.”
TOP PHOTO: FILE – In this June 25, 2018, file photo Charles Barkley arrives for the NBA Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. Barkley has issued an apology Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, for a comment he made to a female political reporter about hitting her. Axios reporter Alexi McCammond wrote on Twitter Tuesday night that when she questioned Barkley on his indecisiveness over the Democratic presidential hopefuls, Barkley told her “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you.” McCammond says when she objected to his remarks, Barkley told her she “couldn’t take a joke.” (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)