Tonight’s ESPY Awards kicked off with a quartet of NBA superstars — LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul — calling for racial justice in a #BlackLivesMatter opening urging change after a spate of racially motivated shootings in the U.S.
“We cannot ignore the realities of the current state of America,” said Anthony in his opening statement, adding: “The system is broken.”
He continued: “The problems are not new. The violence is not new. And the racial divide is definitely not new. [But] the urgency to change is at an all-time high.
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“The racial profiling has to stop,” added Wade. “The shoot-to-kill mentality has to stop. But also, the retaliation has to stop. The endless gun violence in places like Chicago, Dallas and Orlando — it has to stop. Enough. Enough is enough.”
James delivered the closer: “It’s time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves: What are we doing to create change?”
Asking the sports community and his fellow athletes to educate themselves and use their influence to renounce violence, James concluded: “Let’s use this moment as a call to action. We all have to do better.”
