Even before the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years, Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony was already a leading voice in the NBA when it comes to social justice.
Anthony, who has released a memoir entitled “Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised,” grew up in Baltimore. At an early age, he witnessed abuses committed by law enforcers. Even though he eventually became an NBA superstar, escaping the hard life that befell some of his peers in his hometown, Melo has never forgotten where he's from.
In a recent interview with the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Anthony recalled an instance when he led a protest in Baltimore to voice out their displeasure over the continued racism, heeding the clamor of his hometown.
“I was just sitting back and waiting like ‘What should I do? Should I say something?' I like to wait until I get all my information before I make my move. So I'm just falling back, but my phone was blowing up, ‘Yo, champ, we need you. The city needs you, the town needs you.' I was gonna go back, anyway but I was just planning to sneak in and go to city hall, the courthouse, and really put the pressure on the powers-that-be.”
Anthony, however, added he immediately got a warning from police officers about the dangerous situation.
“As soon as I get in, police was like ‘Mr. Anthony, there's a lot of tension out here.' Come on, man. I'm B-more on my neck. My city is calling me. So I don't care what you're talking about. I'm here with my people. We gonna march.”
In recent years, more athletes have become more vocal on social issues and Carmelo Anthony can pat himself on the back for being one of the pioneers.
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