Portland Trail Blazers small forward Carmelo Anthony is so passionate about social justice issues and speaking out on police brutality because he has experienced it all.
In an interview with Sopan Deb of the New York Times, Anthony admitted he's been racially profiled before, among other things.
“I’ve dealt with it all. Have I ever experienced police brutality before? Yes,” the Blazers veteran said. “Whether it was being pulled over, being racially profiled, or being in my neighborhood and being on my block and the police jumping out of their cars and snatching you up and throwing you on the sidewalk and make you sit there — I’ve experienced that. If we don’t understand the root of policies and police and where that stems from, then going out there and trying to speak on defunding the police would not make sense.
“At the end of the day, do we need police? Yes, we need police, but we need them to do their job or we need them to do it the right way and we need to hold them accountable for that the same way we are held accountable for the things we do as well.”
Carmelo Anthony recently partnered with Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade to create a social justice fund. It will help black-owned businesses and the expansion of voting rights.
While he may be playing great basketball with the Blazers — particularly in the Disney bubble — Anthony hasn't lost sight of the main goal: use his platform to instill radical change in America.
Since signing with the Blazers, Anthony is averaging 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.
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