NBA B-ballers Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James opened ESPN’s ESPY’s awards by standing like a defensive line in front of a soccer free kick, emoting a speech on “gun violence.” The mainstream media was all over it, presenting edited versions with near-religious reverence. The video above is the only full version I can find.
During the speech, LeBron (I believe) lists the African Americans whose deaths inspired his outrage: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile. “This is also our reality.”
While there was a fleeting mention of inner city firearms-related violence, the speech focused on “black lives matter” racial agitation. “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.”
Here’s another one: the lack of self regard and victim mentality have to stop. Just sayin’.