The 2016 ESPYs went down last night, and the actual awards handed out were just what you’d expect. LeBron James won Best Male Athlete and Best Championship Performance and Cleveland Cavaliers won “Best Moment” in sports of the year. You can see the full list of winners here.
Perhaps the most interesting moment came at the start of the show, which is when four of the greatest athletes in sports today stood up to make a speech about Black Lives Matter, violence and more. All four were African-American men: LeBron, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. Carmelo Anthony had posted an Instagram about the need for a modern-day “Ali Summit,” a gathering of prominent African-American athletes to stand together for something larger, like athletes did for Muhammad Ali in 1967. LeBron James acted as organizer, contacting ESPY producers and asking if a group of athletes could make a speech as the “cold open” of the show. Producers agreed to it, and this is what happened:
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) July 14, 2016
Here’s a partial transcript of the speech:
“Generations ago, legends like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and 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.”
“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 for change is definitely at an all-time high.”
“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.”
“Tonight we’re honoring Muhammad Ali, the GOAT (greatest of all time). But 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.”
I admire these guys so much for what they’re doing. I know there will be activists saying that these guys could and should do more, but you know what? They are going to get sh-t from every direction no matter what they do or say or don’t do or don’t say. I think LeBron in particular has been very smart about the way he uses his bully pulpit and celebrity and I’m sure there’s a significant percentage of the population who now believes that these men are “cop-haters” and “racists” because they did this.
PS… Kevin Love is really hot, right?
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
I’m not a LeBron fan but I applaud them doing this. It’s such a sad commentary on the current state of affairs to say that they’ll be criticized, but I’m sure they will. I really appreciate the note about returning to communities that need help and voices, too.
Agreed – so many stars on LeBron’s level would prefer to be as non-controversial as possible. It’s great that they’re speaking out, though it’s sad that the obvious truth is actually considered controversial.
That gave me chills. Way to go guys, great message.
I watched the video last night and it was powerful. There’s a strength radiating from LJ as he speaks, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. This got to my heart, and I think it’s amazing. I admire these men so much for using their platform to speak out, and doing so in such a beautiful way.
I made the mistake of scrolling through some comments after I watched, and they made me want to throw up. Anyone who has anything but praise for these men is part of the problem, period point blank.
Black lives matter.
I think it’s amazing and I admire them so much, too. And their platform is huge. But I also am afraid of the inevitable criticism, so tired of the disrespect and contempt for BLM.
With you Esmom, it’s exhausting, overwhelming, angering and disheartening this constant push back against the BLM. I’m so tired of continuously trying to calmly educate people on the quiet racism that exists in all of us. Let alone the not so quiet racism.
My heart is heavy about this, but I’m optimistic and hopeful that more black and brown men in public positions can continue to tell their stories and provoke change from the white men who financially support them.
It really was inspirational and aspirational. Good for them. We need more people to speak up, not fewer. And Magic Johnson has been investing in the communities for decades now. They should maybe create a task force or an organization of black entertainment and sports stars (just due to their visibility), whose purpose is to invest in impoverished and targeted communities. I hope this is the beginning of a movement, and not the end. (It’s the end if Trump’s elected, that’s for sure. The end of days,. The end of us all.)
–TheRealPinky
They will get hate but you know what…at the end of the day all of these men are raising black children too. Their kids could be the next hashtag. I’m sure that keeps them (like other black parents) up at night. If they weren’t winning championships would all these white people that have an issue hero worship these men? Nope so they can have all the seats
Amen. A stunning moment, and it was beyond important–it was so necessary at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement is being demonized, which is so unjust. The movement began with the hunting down and murdering of an innocent teen, Trayvon Martin, by an egomaniacal wannabe self-appointed-“cop”, and it gathered urgency with the street-execution of Mike Brown, which brought the killing of black males by law enforcement into public awareness and scrutiny — an issue that has gathered attention and public outrage thanks to cellphones, cc film, dashboard cams and body-cams. There is no way of knowing how many times these atrocities occurred before technology made them more difficult to cover up and hide.
And now, with the horrible murder of five brave Dallas police officers by a deranged individual, many have jumped on the opportunity to blame Black Lives Matter. I applaud everyone who speaks out in support of BLM, and your race or ethnicity shouldn’t have anything to do with it. (FWIW, I’m a white woman with a bi-racial family.) We all need to step forward and show our support for the movement. It’s about saving innocent lives. Violence is never the answer — and that goes for the killing of cops, as well. We owe it to ourselves to be better than that. We owe it to ourselves to speak out. Right now is when it matters more than ever, because right now is when public focus is there and we can help things to change. No one should have to be afraid every time their black son or husband or brother or friend leaves the house.
Great message!!! LeBron is such a class act! As well as the rest! Kevin Love is a stud, he dates that girl from Magic Mike, Cody Horn. Odd pairing in my eyes
He’s dating a sports illustrated model now, he took her to the championship parade. Lucky girl!
Lebron puts his money where his mouth is. He’s donated new sports equipment to lower income schools from his hometown, and he’s funding scholarships for over a 1,000 kids to go to college. He is a real inspiration to so many in Northeast Ohio. Really impressed by these four Players who spoke up. And Kevin Love is gorgeous!
Yes. LeBron truly is a hometown hero, and anyone who says he isn’t doing enough obviously doesn’t know how much Northeast Ohio (and Akron in particular) has benefited from him, even when he was in Miami.
ESPN got it right with the Authur Ashe award. It still makes my blood boil that Zeavion Dobson’s death is not dominating headlines and covers.
Good for them!!
Applause!
I never ever watch the ESPY’s but for some reason my tv happened to be tuned to the right channel at the right time and I watched all of these men’s speeches. Very powerful and each carrying a special insight into the issue.
I’m tired of people using black on black violence for an excuse about why black lives don’t matter. How do you grow up in a society that continuously and publicly undervalues your life and tells you it doesn’t matter and expect to grow up believing there is value in yours, your brother’s, your neighbor’s, and a stranger’s life? Hurt people, hurt people and they have done so since the dawn of time.
The myth that no one cares about black on black violence is an easy one to repeat because once again it puts the charge and onus on black people for once again being failures, complicit in society somehow rightfully not giving a damn about them, it ignores all the efforts being made and doesn’t choose to examine how a system has bred its worst offenders and still does nothing to stop them as it extinguishes life after life because jail is cheaper than schools, after school programs, mentoring workshops and other resources.
You nailed it! All of this!
Very well said, thank you.
Preach!
As a Clevelander, and a human being, I was so proud of Lebron and company. He shows how one man can make a difference and I hope young ears were open, as well as the not so young. Bless you Bron, you’re my hometown hero….and Kevin and Kyrie. Love
*applause* good for them! This is what role models (for all humans) are made of!
Im not into sports at all so i skipped this whole thing but wow! amazing for them to take a stand ! LOVE IT
I’m glad they said what they said. People seem to be under the misconception that wealthy blacks are immune and removed from the injustices that happen to everyday black people. Wrong. James Blake. Thabo Sefolosha. Dr. Henry Gates. Chris Rock. All profiled and harassed. Our stars and athletes need to speak up, call for change. Use their power to shine a highlight to the widespread problems that effect the black community.
I love it!! I specially like that they include dallas and Orlando and talk about violence too. people protesting should also call for ban on guns too with #blacklikematter. I think more white people should be involved in this too. I hate people like 1993 miss alabama. they are dragging people down, you can’t win with violence.