The opening of the 2016 ESPY Awards saw four of the NBA’s best take center stage to speak on the recent tragedies that have plagued the nation. Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James opened the show with a message to end widespread violence and racial divide in the United States.
Paul mentioned the names of many of the African-American men covered in the media who have died at the hands of police officers in the past few years, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and more recently Alton Sterling. He then recalled other pro athletes from past generations who used their platform to spread equal rights awareness and how the four up on stage want to follow in their footsteps — one being Pro Football Hall-of-Famer and former Syracuse great Jim Brown.
On July 8, Anthony published an Instagram post to voice his frustration with the current state of America and what he and his fellow athletes need to do to initiate change.
“We can’t keep riding on this merry-go-round where tragedy happens,” Anthony wrote. “It’s all over TV and social media, everybody talks about it, then in three and four days it’s over with.”
These two instances led up to his most influential display of using his platform by gathering what is known in the NBA community as “the brotherhood” to help spread his message.
