The NBA has announced that the Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony is the inaugural winner of the NBA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award.
The 10-time NBA All-Star won over other finalists including Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes, Philadelphia 76ers’s Tobias Harris, Milwaukee Bucks’ Jrue Holiday and Golden State Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson. Anthony was selected “for his dedication over the past year to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systematically disadvantaged.”
Announced on Tuesday, the annual honor was created to recognize a player for “pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.”
Throughout the years, Anthony has used his large platform to voice the issues of social justice and racial equality to bring change nationally. His efforts began when he founded the Carmelo Anthony Foundation, a nonprofit organization aiming to impact the lives of those living in under-served communities through education, recreation and outreach programs and initiatives.
“First of all, I just want to say I’m honored, I’m blessed, I feel humbled to be the first recipient of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award,” Anthony said. “Just that name alone, we all know what that stands for, we all know what Kareem stood for and what he stands for now. So, for me to be receiving this award means so much more than a lot of other awards that I’ve ever received.”
“Kareem laid the foundation for us to be able to go out there and continue to fight the fight and continue to use our voice,” Anthony continued. “We know he was a legend on the court. And what he dedicated his life to, but at the end of the day, what he fought for when it comes to equality and he made it his mission and his duty to drive positive change in our community and in our society.”
Besides the nonprofit, Anthony has also established the STAYME7O Propel Program for Black creative expression. He also launched Creative 7 in April, a Global Content Company that is focused on inclusive narratives and voices that have gone unheard for too long.
“Storytelling brings people together, and it can serve as a vehicle for propelling larger societal conversations and understanding,” Anthony said in the release statement back in April. “We are interested in all types of stories that have the power to serve as catalysts for the change we wish to see in the world.”
As a dedicated athlete seeking justice, Anthony states he’ll continue pushing boundaries and making changes to our everyday problems in society. “I can promise that I’ll continue to carry the torch and shine a light in the places that need it most,” he wrote in a tweet soon after winning the award.
The finalists were selected by a panel comprised of Abdul-Jabbar, the Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, student activist Teyonna Lofton, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen, and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
With this award, Anthony will receive $100,000 for his charity, and the other finalists will each receive $25,000.
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