Former NBA star Charles Barkley recently gave an impassioned rant about America's African American population, criticizing what he believes to be certain attitudes within the black community.

Barkley was on a Philadelphia radio show, “Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis,” when the hosts asked him to weigh in on the transfer of former Seattle Seahawks player Percy Harvin. He had been butting heads with quarterback Russell Wilson, whom he allegedly deemed not “black enough.”

In a rant, Barkley talked about how some in the black community attribute more importance to “street cred” than to “intelligence,” according to AL.com.

“We as black people are never going to be successful, not because of you white people, but because of other black people. When you are black, you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people," Barkley said. "For some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you're not a thug or an idiot, you're not black enough. If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent, and don't break the law, you're not a good black person. It's a dirty, dark secret in the black community."

Barkley continued by pointing out that "a lot" of black people are unintelligent and unsuccessful.

"It's best to knock a successful black person down because they're intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school, and they're successful," he said. "It's just typical BS that goes on when you're black, man."

In the interview, the hosts reference an article written by Mike Freeman that was published on the Bleacher Report about Wilson and Harvin’s animosity. Although he highlights various issues concerning some team members’ perception of Wilson, he argued there was also a racial aspect.

“My feeling on this -- and it's backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players -- is that some of the black players think Wilson isn't black enough,” Freeman wrote. “This is an issue that extends outside of football, into African-American society -- though it's gotten better recently. Well-spoken blacks are seen by some other blacks as not completely black. Some of this is at play.”

Listen to the interview:

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