Amidst an old debate that brings Michael Jordan's altruism into question, having resurfaced since the publishing of his deeply personal and socially significant open letter, "I Can No Longer Stay Silent," one major voice in the movement to have athletes speak out on issues affecting the community, has applauded him. Knicks captain Carmelo Anthony showed his support for MJ's position, saying, "I thought it was brilliant and about time that he stepped up and said what he said."
"At the end of the day, amongst us, he is our face. He is an African-American and a very powerful African-American, so for him to step up in the midst of these times right now, it was very big on his behalf," Anthony continued, while speaking to reporters after hosting a closed-door meeting that brought community leaders together in L.A. to discuss a plan to address the conflict between police and the Black community. "It's not always about the money, but for him to step up and put his money where his mouth is at, the timing was perfect,"
Anthony has taken leadership on the matter of police violence since the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile earlier this month, penning a call to action before taking to the stage along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Lebron James, to make a plea for athletes to use their influence in the likeness of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and other athletes who once transcended sports to impact change in society. Just last week Anthony fulfilled his spokesperson role when he came to the defense of several teams in the WNBA who were fined for altering their warm-up uniforms, to dress down in black as a gesture of protest on behalf of Black Lives Matter.
Up to 200 attendees were on hand, including law enforcement brass and members of the women's and men's USA Olympic teams, at the Challengers Boys & Girls Club, to build dialogue around police/community relations at Monday's juncture, billed "Leadership Together: A Conversation with Our Sons & Daughters."
Source: hiphopwired.com
