Carmelo Anthony wins NBA's inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award

Carmelo Anthony was announced on Tuesday as the inaugural winner of the NBA's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award.

The Portland Trail Blazers forward was selected for the award among fellow finalists Tobias Harris, Jrue Holiday, Harrison Barnes and Juan Toscano-Anderson.

"I've received a lot awards throughout my life, throughout my career," Anthony said. "This award right here, means a lot more than any other award I've received. I say that because of the times that we're in, what we're dealing with in our country, what we're dealing with around the world — and also in our community, the Black community."

[SOURCE: MSN.COM]

NBA Superstars Speak on Black Lives, Police, & Violence at the 2016 ESPYs

Watch Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade & LeBron James opening powerful tribute to unarmed black men shot dead at the hands of police, and violence in general at the ESPYS.

Carmelo Anthony ask athletes to speak and demand change

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Dallas that left five law enforcement officers dead, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony took to social media Friday morning to ask athletes to "step up" and "demand change" without resorting to violence. Read his post below.

First off let me start off by saying " All Praise Due To The Most High." Secondly, I'm all about rallying, protesting, fighting for OUR people. Look I'll even lead the charge, By Any Means Necessary. We have to be smart about what we are doing though. We need to steer our anger in the right direction. The system is Broken. Point blank period. It has been this way forever. Martin Luther King marched. Malcolm X rebelled. Muhammad Ali literally fought for US. Our anger should be towards the system. If the system doesn't change we will continue to turn on the TVs and see the same thing. We have to put the pressure on the people in charge in order to get this thing we call JUSTICE right. A march doesn't work. We tried that. I've tried that. A couple social media post/tweet doesn't work. We've all tried that. That didn't work. Shooting 11 cops and killing 5 WILL NOT work. While I don't have a solution, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people don't have a solution, we need to come together more than anything at this time. We need each other. These politicians have to step up and fight for change. I'm calling for all my fellow ATHLETES to step up and take charge. Go to your local officials, leaders, congressman, assemblymen/assemblywoman and demand change. There's NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore. 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. Peace7 #StayMe7o

A photo posted by @carmeloanthony on Jul 8, 2016 at 8:02am PDT

Carmelo Anthony walks with protesters in Baltimore.

In an era when athletes are more worried about their next shoe deal than what's going on in the real world it was refreshing to see NY Knicks star, Carmelo Anthony return to his childhood home and march with people protesting the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of Baltimore Police on Thursday. He did this after posting on Instagram asking people to stop rioting and destroying Baltimore. Kudos to Carmelo Anthony for being a star both on and off the court.

Thank u melo. #AaronMaybinPhotography #BALTIMORE #justiceforfreddiegray #ilovebaltimore

A photo posted by aaron maybin (@aaronmaybin) on Apr 30, 2015 at 1:47pm PDT

In an era when athletes are more worried about their next shoe deal than what's going on in the real world it was refreshing to see NY Knicks star, Carmelo Anthony return to his childhood home and march with people protesting the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of Baltimore Police on Thursday. He did this after posting on Instagram asking people to stop rioting and destroying Baltimore. Kudos to Carmelo Anthony for being a star both on and off the court.