In the year 2004, Carmelo Anthony was entering his second year in the NBA. He was coming off a fantastic rookie season in which the one-and-done product of Syracuse University averaged 21 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and propelled the Denver Nuggets to the NBA Playoffs. His performance was good enough to earn him a second-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting to LeBron James.
Unfortunately, the cornrowed kid from Baltimore was also pegged as a selfish player on the court as he never saw a shot he didn’t like. Off the court, some of his decisions were as dizzying as his signature spin move. He was arrested at the Denver International Airport for marijuana possession (Charges were eventually dropped after a friend confessed to being the owner of the marijuana). He also briefly appeared in a video entitled Stop Snitchin’ in which a self-described drug dealer warned Baltimore residents about the dangers of talking to the police.
A few years later, Anthony was suspended for 15-games for punching Mardy Collins during a brawl between the Anthony’s Nuggets and the New York Knicks. Sprinkle in an alcohol-related arrest and suspension during his Nugget’s tenure and Anthony was not likely on anybody’s list to emerge as one of the NBA’s most-prominent and outspoken leaders against injustice. However, fast-forward to 2016 and that’s exactly what has happened.
In last week’s column, I mentioned Anthony’s Instagram post calling for athletes to take a stand against issues such as police brutality and violent crime in the community. Anthony didn’t stop there with a simple social media post though. Anthony joined James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade onstage at ESPN’s ESPY awards to call for justice and peace.
“The system is broken,” Anthony said. “The problems are not new, the violence is not new, and the racial divide definitely is not new, but the urgency for change is definitely at an all-time high.”
Anthony’s ability to help bring together four NBA superstars to make a bold statement calling for change is a feat in itself. For many years, top NBA stars have tried hard to remain apolitical to avoid offending sponsors in order to maximize their endorsements and earning potential. Now, as the body counts continue to rise and the body cam and cell phone footage make their way to the public eye via social media, athletes can no longer afford to stand silent on the sidelines.
Just look at Thabo Sefolosha of the Atlanta Hawks. Last year, Sefolosha had his leg broken by the NYPD after being beaten by officers outside a New York night club. Sefolosha and former teammate Pedro Antic were both arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration for simply standing outside and waiting for a car. Antic’s charges were dropped but Sefolosha was forced to go to a jury trial, where he was acquitted of all charges. He has now filed a lawsuit against the NYPD for $50 million.
How many black men without Sefolosha’s wealth or notoriety would’ve survived such an encounter or managed to beat the bogus charges in a court of law? Wealth doesn’t make Anthony, James, Sefolosha or any other athlete immune to the unjust realities of America. It does, however, provide them with a certain level of influence. That’s what Anthony is banking on as he transitions from chasing scoring titles to chasing civil rights and justice for all.
Anthony penned an article for The Guardian entitled, We athletes can no longer remain on the sidelines in the struggle for justice. In the article, Anthony wrote, “No athlete should think: If I speak up, I’m going to lose an endorsement or a sponsorship. Because if that’s the case then you have to question the kind of people that you’re doing business with and ask yourself where their heads and morals are at.”
While other NBA superstars have taken a pass on the 2016 Olympics, Anthony will once again go for the gold in Rio. Like Tommie Smith and John Carlos, he stated that he is committed to using the platform of the Olympics to demand justice for minorities and take a stand against gun violence in America. The Olympics should serve as a perfect platform. Countries that have watched America play the moral police for decades will be front and center to hear what Anthony and his Olympic teammates have to say about race relations in the United States.
It seems that Anthony is not just talking the talk either. He marched with protesters in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray. According to The Undefeated, he is planning a town hall event in Los Angeles in the near future. He has also called for more direct community involvement by all athletes.
Now, a man who was so often referred to as a poor leader in basketball circles is now emerging as possibly the most-important leader in professional sports. It should be no surprise that Melo has matured from an immature 20-year-old kid in the Stop Snitchin’ video to a confident and capable leader as a 32-year-old freedom fighter. That’s what generally happens as boys grow into men. Hopefully Anthony will be successful in inspiring others to take a stand, and more importantly take action, against injustice and violence. Watching Anthony grown into a leader, only proves that other young, black boys can do the same, as long as they can survive to see adulthood.
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