Michael Jordan shocked everyone on Monday when he decided to no longer be silent and finally spoke up on social issues. Jordan said he was deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement but also upset with the targeting and killing of police. He donated $1 million each to two organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Carmelo Anthony praised Jordan for speaking up but also noted that it was “about time.”
“I thought it was brilliant and about time that he stepped up and said what he said,” Anthony said later Monday following a meeting with community leaders in Los Angeles. “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. 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 himself has taken a stand and gotten more involved with the racial and social unrest in the country. In addition to the ESPYs speech he made with his brotherhood of LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, he also led a Town Hall discussion with Tamika Catchings and other members of the USA Basketball men’s and women’s national teams. They met with community leaders at the Challengers Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles for two hours in what was billed as “Leadership Together: A Conversation with Our Sons & Daughters.”
There were about 200 people in attendance, including Deputy Chief William Scott of the Los Angeles Police Department; Calvin Lyons, the president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles; and Charisse Weaver, the president of the Brotherhood Crusade.
source: ESPN
