Open letter: Here's what Kenny Smith thinks about Charles Barkley and Ferguson

Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley are analysts on TNT's Inside the NBA. They're also friends who have differing opinions on the events in Ferguson, Mo. After Barkley publicly called the people looting in Ferguson "scumbags," Smith responded with an open letter to Barkley via For the Win. Smith wrote that he dislikes Barkley's use of the word "scumbag" to describe looters and civilians burning down businesses. "When you are in 'The Struggle' to not expect that that potential reaction is foolish on our part," he wrote. He also doesn't think Barkley's opinion on race relations should be valued alongside those of lifelong activists. What "I consistently find interesting is how writers and media members view your insights in politics, and now race relations, with the same reverence as your insights in sports," Smith wrote. Barkley and Smith had a civil, face-to-face chat on air the next night during their show.

Kenny Smith, left, and Charles Barkley had a public discussion about their differing views of the events in Ferguson, Mo. (Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)

15 TV Couples We Can't Get Enough of in 2014 ... or Ever!

From hot and steamy to simple and easygoing, sometimes TV gets relationships right. So, so right. That's how 'ships are made, after all.

Here are 15 TV couples we love - and wish were real.

1. Sheldon and Amy

Sheldon and Amy are The Big Bang Theory's perfect nerdy couple, even if Sheldon doesn't look exactly comfortable here.

2. Jamie and Claire

If you haven't seen Outlander and the romance of Jamie and Claire, you are missing out!

3. Castle and Beckett

Kate Beckett and Rick Castle have long been fan favorites on the show that carries his surname. For good reason.

4. Oliver and Felicity

Oliver and Felicity are so hot on Arrow, you can feel the Smoak! (Sorry. But true.)

5. Booth and Bones

Bones fans waited far too long to see their leading couple get together, and even longer to see them walk down the aisle! But they did!

6. Olivia Pope and Fitzgerald Grant

NO ONE on television heats up a screen like Olivia Pope and President Fitzgerald Grant. They're so hot together it's easy to forget they're having an affair.

7. Mindy and Danny

Aren't Mindy and Danny just adorable together? They've definitely earned a spot on this list!

8. Emma and Hook

Emma and Hook were so star-crossed for so long on Once Upon a Time, they built up one of the biggest followings around. If you watch the show, you know why!

9. Vincent and Catherine

Beauty and the Beast's Vincent and Catherine have quite the loyal following. They also have their own couple name: VinCat!

10. Kensi and Deeks

Kensi and Deeks on NCIS: Los Angeles make one of the more unlikely couples on this list, due to the procedural nature of the show, but NCIS LA fans know how well it works.

11. Homer and Marge Simpson

No list of TV couples would be complete without Homer and Marge Simpson! They know how to keep love alive!

12. Kurt and Blaine

Kurt and Blaine's break-up rocked Glee fans! But they eventually found their way back together!

13. Angela and Hodgins

Angela and Hodgins were destined to be together on Bones. They got married in jail for crying out loud! That's dedication.

14. Damon and Elena

There may never be another TV couple like The Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert, who were so smoking hot they could set your screen on fire ... or set the Internet on fire when the actors broke up in real life.

15. Meredith and Derek

Memorial Edition: Before that mess with Patrick Dempsey and Shonda Rhimes that prompted her to send McDreamy out of town, then bring him back only to KILL HIM, Meredith and Derek were Grey's Anatomy's original - and best - couple for more than a decade.