Although I don’t agree with everything he says, Barkley is not afraid to say unpopular things. In his circle of friends or among his black friends, I am sure that this opinion would not be popular.
I know he's put his foot in his mouth a couple of times, but... the dude thinks for himself.
Watch him do an NBA program and you'll disagree with about a lot of what he says, if you're like me, but - the guy thinks for himself and has no problem elucidating. I see him making no effort to be PC, which I like. I enjoy the NBA games he does with Shaquille O'Neal, I think they're both pretty cool guys.
(I know, he said something once about he doesn't like white people. In the first place who says I'm white, and in the second place maybe I just don't care about some generalization made by some black basketball player that might or might not have included people like me...)