New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is struggling to figure out the best way to be a leader in the conversation regarding the relationships between police and the African-American and overall community, but he wants to do something. He wants other athletes to use their roles in society to help spark change for the good as well.
Anthony wrote a column for The Guardian in which he puts the word out there he wants fellow athletes to use their platform for the greater good if they feel comfortable doing so.
Knowing he is viewed in a spotlight not many get the chance to utilize, and in the wake of three horrifying events over the past week and a half, Anthony explains where he is coming from as he reacts to the news and the troubling headlines that seem more routine than they should ever be. Anthony says it is time to stop relying on hashtags to promote change and instead look for ways to actively generate change.
“I don’t want to put it all on athletes. I believe all people need to rise up and make their voices heard. But I do think that athletes have the biggest reach, especially now with social media and all the people that follow us. We have one of the biggest platforms to speak out, one where people pay attention to what we have to say, whether it’s everyday civilians or those in positions of power. We have that influence. It’s just a matter of if we want to use it or not. Everybody uses it for different reasons. But at a time like this, you have to put aside the politics of business and whether a sponsor or somebody from a company that you represent is going to call you about it. If you’re a human being, this affects everybody.”
Anthony will be a part of the United States men’s basketball team heading to Rio in the next few weeks. For Anthony, it is a chance to win an unprecedented third Olympic gold medal, but he is already recognizing this as an opportunity to promote a more important message than winning a basketball game would tell.
“I haven’t spoken with my team-mates yet about the opportunity before us and how we can take advantage of it, because at the end of the day I want it to be genuine. If you don’t feel like you want to make a statement or make a stand, then don’t do it. You shouldn’t feel forced to do it. You have to want to do that. For me, I do feel like this is a platform where we should – we as athletes, we as Americans – use it for something. Whether we make a statement out there or send a message, we can show the world that we’re united. Whatever way we want to do it, this is a chance to do something meaningful before an audience of billions. I don’t know what that something is yet, but we still have time to figure it out.”
Anthony later goes on to discuss how there was a time when star athletes could get politically involved and not risk losing anything. It is Anthony’s belief star athletes started shying away form getting politically involved in such ways once the money started coming in at higher rates. There is some plausibility in that idea, and perhaps even Anthony fell into that mold at one point as well. Not anymore.
Anthony is stepping on a soap box and saying he will make an effort to help build the community around him and beyond, which is always refreshing to see. Perhaps others will soon answer his call.
