Last night, Axios reporter Alexi McCammond tweeted about an interaction with Charles Barkley in which Barkley responded to an innocuous question by saying “I don’t hit women, but if I did I’d hit you.” When McCammond said that was offensive, Barkley accused her of not being able to take a joke.
Just FYI Charles Barkley told me tonight “I don’t hit women but if I did I would hit you,” and then when I objected to that he told me I “couldn’t take a joke.”
— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) November 20, 2019
Here’s a pic (albeit dark and blurry) if you need more. pic.twitter.com/Ad32cMemiv
— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) November 20, 2019
The thread sparked plenty of conversation, a selection of which you can find in our post from last night.
Today, via Turner Sports PR, Barkley issued a short apology:
Statement on behalf of Charles Barkley in response to tweet by Axios reporter Alexi McCammond:
“My comment was inappropriate and unacceptable. It was an attempted joke that wasn’t funny at all. There’s no excuse for it and I apologize.”
— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsUS) November 20, 2019
“My comment was inappropriate and unacceptable. It was an attempted joke that wasn’t funny at all. There’s no excuse for it and I apologize.”
McCammond retweeted the apology from her account, where she’s also shared some of the harassment she’s received for reporting what happened.