The 2016 ESPY Awards opened with a powerful speech by basketball stars LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade.
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The ESPYs, an Oscars-like celebration for sports, is being held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by pro wrestler John Cena.
James also encouraged fellow athletes to invest time and resources into their communities and help rebuild, strengthen and change them.
Four NBA stars issued a plea for an end to the violence in America on Wednesday with LeBron James calling on athletes in all sports to use their influence make their cities safer.
“We stand here tonight accepting our role in uniting communities to be the change we need to see”, Paul said.
“Enough is enough”, continued Wade. “But the urgency to create change is at an all-time high”. “But also, the retaliation has to stop”, said Wade. “We started talking and I was explaining to him why we were here (for Making A Difference On AND Off The Field) and the ESPY tickets”. Papa, who retired in June after winning his 800th career game, is scheduled to talk about his experiences with the “WGN Morning News” live from Los Angeles around 8:40 a.m. Thursday.
This year’s recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award was Zaevion Dobson, a 15-year-old football player from Tennessee who was shot and killed on December 17 while using his body to shield two friends from a barrage of bullets in a gang-related shooting not intended for the teenagers.
According to Anthony, every word of what he said was written by he himself. “Wherever you’re from, whatever you think, whatever your politics are, what you can’t forget is every one of those people who dies has a story”.
Vice President Joe Biden presented TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for his strength and determination while fighting leukemia for 1 1/2 years.
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Three retiring athletes will be honored with the Icon Awards including Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach with the prestigious award.
