Carmelo Anthony calls for athlete action after latest police shootings
The three biggest stories in the United States this week are all related. The police killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, the police killing of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and the killing of five police officers and wounding of several other officers and citizens by a lone gunman at an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas yet again bring up America’s history and present dealings with race, anti-black violence, the black community’s relationship with the police, and guns. These events have dominated the news and social media for good reason — they are symptomatic of deep-seated issues in the United States, hold the public’s fascination, and require deeper consideration.
It stands to reason that the NBA, a league with a predominantly black on-court work force, would have particularly strong interest in all three incidents. The NBA and WNBA issued an official statement on Friday that expressed solidarity with all communities affected by the tragedies, and basketball players were among the many athletes who spoke out on social media before and during Thursday night’s mass shooting in Dallas.
One NBA star would like his peers in many sports to do much more. In a message posted to Instagram and several other personal sites, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony called on all prominent athletes to adopt the spirit of the ’60s and take a stand for black rights. Take a look:
The image Melo chose to accompany his message shows many major black athletes, including Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), gathered in 1967 to support Muhammad Ali in his decision not to participate in the Vietnam War.
Here’s a more readable version of Melo’s message (with paragraph breaks of my choosing):
First off let me start off by saying ” All Praise Due To The Most High.” Secondly, I’m all about rallying, protesting, fighting for OUR people. Look I’ll even lead the charge, By Any Means Necessary. We have to be smart about what we are doing though. We need to steer our anger in the right direction. The system is Broken. Point blank period. It has been this way forever. Martin Luther King marched. Malcolm X rebelled. Muhammad Ali literally fought for US.
Our anger should be towards the system. If the system doesn’t change we will continue to turn on the TVs and see the same thing. We have to put the pressure on the people in charge in order to get this thing we call JUSTICE right.
A march doesn’t work. We tried that. I’ve tried that. A couple social media post/tweet doesn’t work. We’ve all tried that. That didn’t work. Shooting 11 cops and killing 5 WILL NOT work. While I don’t have a solution, and I’m pretty sure a lot of people don’t have a solution, we need to come together more than anything at this time. We need each other. These politicians have to step up and fight for change.
I’m calling for all my fellow ATHLETES to step up and take charge. Go to your local officials, leaders, congressman, assemblymen/assemblywoman and demand change.
There’s NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore. Those days are long gone. We have to step up and take charge. We can’t worry about what endorsements we gonna lose or whose going to look at us crazy.
I need your voices to be heard. We can demand change. We just have to be willing to. THE TIME IS NOW. IM all in. Take Charge. Take Action. DEMAND CHANGE. Peace7 #StayMe7o
Again, other athletes have called for healing and taken public stands over the last week. But Melo’s post stands out as the most involved and forceful of the bunch. Although he does not claim to have an answer to the violence and the rash of police killings of black citizens, he knows enough to say that famous athletes can put pressure on leaders and politicians that others cannot. It’s arguably not the best idea to advocate for action before developing a plan of attack, but the sentiment is important. Celebrities can bring attention to an issue simply by mentioning it, but they can also do more if they desire.
None of this is to say that athletes should feel obligated to act. Melo’s point, rather, is that those who do should think about a variety of possibilities, not just those that come easiest.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
