Charles Barkley roasted Jussie Smollett on 'Inside the NBA': 'Do not commit crimes with checks'

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Charles Barkley is never one to shy away from a joke, and shared a few thoughts on Jussie Smollett on Thursday night's edition of "Inside the NBA."

• Charles Barkley roasted actor Jussie Smollett on Thursday's edition of "Inside the NBA."
• Barkley jokingly implored Americans not to use checks when "committing illegal activities."
• Co-host Shaquille O'Neal struggled to keep his composure throughout the episode.

TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew once again put basketball on the backburner for a few segments in favor of Charles Barkley getting a few jokes in regarding the controversy surrounding "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.

As the "Inside the NBA" team was discussing how the second half of the season would shake out, Kenny Smith asked Ernie Johnson which of the predictions they had made earlier in the year had no chance of coming true.

"Two black guys beating a black guy up," Barkley interrupted, sending co-host Shaquille O'Neal into laughter.

Barkley was referencing the legal case of actor Jussie Smollett, who was arrested on Thursday on the charge of falsely reporting a racist, homophobic attack against him.

Read more: Jussie Smollett arrested by Chicago police after handing himself in over charge of falsely reporting racist, homophobic attack

While not the lightest matter to joke about, Barkley dug in and quickly had the entire "Inside the NBA" crew in hysterics.

Barkley's main issue with Smollett came from reports that he used a check to pay the two men who allegedly helped him stage the attack.

"America, let me just tell you something," Barkley said. "Do not commit crimes with checks."

The production team at "Inside the NBA" jumped into action, and after the next commercial break, had produced a graphic of Barkley's fake check write out to "muggers" for the purchase of "mugging supplies."

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Barkley would get one final joke in at Smollett's expense before the end of the night, saying "There must be some good damn sandwiches at Subway if you've got to go out there at three, four in the morning to get them."

"Inside the NBA" is known for the loose rapport between its hosts and its tendency to deviate far from basketball, but even by their standards, Thursday night was a wild one for the show.