Back To The Future Friday Flashback: From Lebron to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

wwetvsports21
Jul 15, 2016
3 min read

The poignant opener of the ESPY Awards that featured Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade speaking about the recent turmoil in America began with an Instagram post.

After two police shooting deaths that ricocheted through the country and the murder of five Dallas police officers, Anthony posted a call on his social media account on Friday to do more.

“NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore,” he wrote. “Those days are long gone. 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. THE TIME IS NOW. IM all in. Take Charge. Take Action. DEMAND CHANGE.”

Three days later, one of James’ representatives reached out to ESPY producer Maura Mandt asking for time in the show for James, Anthony, Wade and Paul to speak about the recent tragic events.

“We quickly arranged a conference call on Monday afternoon for Maura and I to get on the phone with all four of them at once to hear what they intended to say and the message they wanted to convey. After listening, we decided that the powerful message should live at the top of the show,” Connor Schell, the senior vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and Original Content who oversees the ESPYs told For The Win in a statement through an ESPN spokesperson. “The four guys worked on their message over the next 48 hours individually and as a group. From the conception of the idea to the moment they stepped on stage, this was their message.”

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Carmelo Anthony: Good evening. Tonight is a celebration of sports, celebrating our accomplishments and our victories. But in this moment of celebration, we asked to start the show tonight this way: the four of us talking to our fellow athletes with the country watching. Because we cannot ignore the realities of the current state of America. The events of the past week have put a spotlight on the injustice, distrust, and anger that plague so many of us. The system is broken. The problems are not new, the violence is not new, and the racial divide definitely is not new. But the urgency to great change is at an all-time high.

Chris Paul: We stand here tonight accepting our role in uniting communities to be the change we need to see. We stand before you as fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, uncles, and in my case, as an African-American man and the nephew of a police officer, who is one of the hundreds of thousands of great officers serving this country. But Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile: This is also our reality. Generations ago, legends like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and countless others—they set a model for what athletes should stand for. So we choose to follow in their footsteps.

Dwyane Wade: The racial profiling has to stop. The shoot-to-kill mentality has to stop. Not seeing the value of black and brown bodies has to stop. But also the retaliation has to stop. The endless gun violence in places like Chicago, Dallas, not to mention Orlando—it has to stop. Enough! Enough is enough. Now, as athletes, it's on us to challenge each other to do even more than what we already do in our own communities. And the conversation cannot—it cannot stop as our schedules get busy again. It won't always be convenient. It won't. It won't always be comfortable. But it is necessary.

LeBron James: We all feel helpless and frustrated by the violence. We do. But that's not acceptable. It's time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "What are we doing to create change?" It's not about being a role model. It's not about our responsibility to a condition of activism. I know tonight, we'll honor Muhammad Ali, the G.O.A.T. To do his legacy any justice, let's use this moment as a call to action to all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence, and renounce all violence. And most importantly go back to our communities. Invest our time, our resources. Help rebuild them. Help strengthen them. Help change them. We all have to do better. Thank you.

The solidarity with athletes for a cause started in the 1960's as you will see above with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lou Alcindor at the time), Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time), Jim Brown, Bill Russell meet at the e African American Industrial and Economic Union, to discuss his draft stance during the Vietnam War. Location: Cleveland Ohio. Date: June 9, 1967.