
NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul took the floor to open the ESPY Awards Wednesday night (July 13). Calling on the need for change in society, the famed athletes pleaded for the violence to stop. They urged fellow athletes to use their platform to invoke a societal facelift in wake of the recent incidents.
The start of the show was not a network idea. LeBron, Carmelo, CP3, and D-Wade approached the network and asked to open the show. #ESPYS
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) July 14, 2016
The speeches were not industry driven, reportedly the ballers spoke to the network about the opportunity to open up the show with this much needed message.
Earlier this week, Carmelo took to Instagram to call on his fellow athletes to not be afraid to speak up about political issues. “We have to step up and take charge. We can’t worry about what endorsements we gonna lose or whose going to look at us crazy. I need your voices to be heard. We can demand change. We just have to be willing to.”
WATCH: “The urgency to create change is at an all-time high.” – @carmeloanthonyhttps://t.co/V7KMxkibaV
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 14, 2016
Chris Paul, who is the nephew of a police officer, spoke about the prior instances over the past few years where an African-American was killed by the police. CP3 also talked about how other athletes in the past set a model on what to stand for, leading this group to walk in their footsteps.
WATCH: “We stand here accepting our role in uniting communities.” – @CP3 #ESPYS https://t.co/bMS6Vra3Bx
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 14, 2016
Dwyane Wade pleaded that the violence needs to stop, and the shoot-to-kill mentality in this country needs to come to an end. “Enough is enough” he said, focusing on the racial profiling angle. The conversation must keep going.
WATCH: “Racial profiling has to stop… but also the retaliation has to stop. Enough is enough.” –@DwyaneWade #ESPYS https://t.co/p7twmTjimT
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 14, 2016
LeBron James also used the moment to call on other athletes to look in the mirror and take the challenge to help create change in their community. On a night where Muhammad Ali would be honored, the NBA all-stars took a stand to do his legacy justice. “We all have to do better” the 3-time champion pleaded.
WATCH: “We all have to do better.” – @KingJames#ESPYShttps://t.co/PsqLjsutZg
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 14, 2016
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KCjMvEdPi30