Melo implores athletes to help '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.

“Shooting 11 cops and killing 5 WILL NOT work,” Anthony wrote on Instagram. “… 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.”

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

LeBron James, who said Anthony’s Instagram post was “on point,” also reached out on Twitter to implore people to stop the violence.

We are all hurting tonight. More violence is not the answer. #StoptheViolence

— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 8, 2016

In addition to the five officers who died, seven officers and two civilians were also injured Thursday night after an ambush in downtown Dallas following a peaceful march to protest the fatal shootings by police officers of two black men — Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota — this week.

Dallas athletes also expressed their emotions on social media following Thursday night’s attack.

It is the #Lives that are lost that we are not honoring if we keep having this divide #Fam! This idea is not only about tonight #PEACE !!!

— Marcus Spears (@mspear96) July 8, 2016

Our community is stunned this morning. My thoughts and prayers go out to the fallen police officers and their loved ones.

— Tony Romo (@tonyromo) July 8, 2016

Black lives Matter,White lives matter,Hispanic lives matter,Latin lives matter,Asian lives matter,All lives matter,Yo life matters! #Truth

— Deion Sanders (@DeionSanders) July 8, 2016

Dallas,we mourn those who lost their lives protecting us and stand together, united, to cherish those we live and work next to #DallasStrong

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 8, 2016

Still in shock. Saddened to hear about the tragic events in Dallas. My Thoughts are with everyone, who are affected. #StoptheViolence

— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) July 8, 2016

Man what is going on right now. I don’t wanna live in fear! I want to be free and walk around my city. Not scared of my every move!

— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) July 8, 2016

“We need to steer our anger in the right direction,” Anthony wrote. “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.”

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