After Carmelo Anthony’s town hall meeting on Monday (July 25), which was held at the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles, Calif., to discuss police relations in the community, Anthony praised his inspiration, Michael Jordan.
The floor was opened for a Q&A session, and one of the members of the audience asked the New York Knick how he felt about Jordan finally breaking his silence and speaking out on social issues, seeing as though the NBA champ has always stayed quiet when it came to addressing issues of politics or civil rights in history.
With Jordan being an African American who’s an idol to many for his amazing basketball skills and for being a successful entrepreneur, Anthony applauded him for “putting his money where his mouth” is, and finally using his platform to speak out. Kids look up to the former basketball legend and they’re his biggest fans. They camp out to buy his latest sneakers or gear, and many have dreams of being just like him on the basketball court. Therefore, it was great for him to finally speak out on a huge social issue that has been occurring around the U.S., and donate to the cause of fighting for justice.
“I thought it was brilliant, and about time that he stepped up, said what he said,” Anthony told the media. “At the end of the day, amongst us, he is our face. He is an African American, a very powerful African American, so for him to step up in the midst of these times right now was very big on his behalf.”
Carmelo Anthony on Michael Jordan’s statement today. “I thought it was brilliant and about time he stepped up.” pic.twitter.com/D3htGey0MI
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 25, 2016