Carmelo Anthony: Athletes Need to Fight for Political Causes
Following the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and five police officers in a Dallas shooting this week, the Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony penned a powerful message on his Instagram calling for people to unite and find a solution to the on-going violent.
Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, Anthony said people’s anger should be directed towards the system — otherwise “we will continue to turn on the TVs and see the same thing” — and urged athletes to step up and take charge alongside him.
Anthony certainly wasn’t the only athlete calling for change this week. Fellow NBA star LeBron James posted on Twitter that Castile’s death “sickens me and I shed multiple tears about it all.” He later tweeted “#PhilandoCastile” and “#AltonSterling” followed by a call to stop the violence across the nation.
We are all hurting tonight. More violence is not the answer. #StoptheViolence
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 8, 2016
Deion Sanders, Dirk Nowitzki, Ezekiel Elliott, Kevin Durant and Elvis Andrus posted similar messages on social media throughout the day. Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban also tweeted that the city of Dallas mourns “those who lost their lives protecting us and stand together, united, to cherish those we live and work next to.”