LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, More Comment on Police, Race Relations at ESPYs
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade opened the 2016 ESPYs with a call to action regarding police reform and gun violence.
Good Morning America shared the NBA stars' impassioned plea:
MTV.com's Jamil Smith thought the four offered a necessary message:
ESPN's Rachel Nichols also praised them:
Earlier this month, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling died at the hands of police, and a sniper killed five police officers during a peaceful protest in Dallas.
James, Anthony, Paul and Wade weren't the first athletes to address the three events and demand change. The Minnesota Lynx's captains, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen, wore T-shirts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement:
Brunson released a statement about what she and her teammates hoped to accomplish, per the Star Tribune's Jim Paulsen and Catherine E. Shoichet and Jill Martin of CNN.com:
"In the wake of the tragedies that have continued to plague our society, we have decided it's important to take a stand and raise our voices. Racial profiling is a problem. Senseless violence is a problem. The divide is way too big between our communities and those who have vowed to protect and serve us. ... Racism and unjust phobic fear of black males and disregard of black females is very real. ... I'm scared for my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews, my future son or daughter. I'm scared I can't teach them to stand up for themselves, to be young, proud, strong people.
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ABC News' T.J. Holmes reported ABC didn't originally plan to open the ESPYs with James, Anthony, Paul and Wade on stage but did so at the players' request.
