Creech: Anthony proving to be a man of action off the court
The event got some publicity but not much.
A lot of what Anthony does off the court goes unnoticed. Maybe if it didn’t, his reputation would be different.
While Anthony was deemed cocky in his freshman year at Syracuse and made a few errors in judgment early in his career — like having a part in a video with a drug dealer in Baltimore in 2004 — he has spent the last decade maturing and becoming a role model.
Anthony is one of the most charitable athletes in the country. He doesn’t just give money but also time, advice and attention.
He doesn’t just share opinions or distaste. He springs to action and works to better the world around him.
According to several reports, Anthony will be the newest addition to the Houston-area sports scene sometime in the near future. Now that Anthony has cleared waivers from Atlanta, he is expected to sign with the Rockets.
While there are a lot of questions as to what he will bring to the court — which could be considerable for the Rockets — there is no question as to what he brings off the court.
Antithesis of Osuna
On Monday, the Astros traded for Roberto Osuna, a pitcher whose character raises a lot of questions. He is about to complete a 75-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
The trade is a tough one to digest. The Astros claimed to have a zero-tolerance policy for violence of any kind, and there was obviously enough evidence for MLB to hand down a hefty suspension. So the move is a surprise, to say the least.
Each time Osuna pitches, there are going to be questions, drama and negative attention.
Time will tell how that trade will play out.
Down the street at Toyota Center, the addition of Anthony is going to bring a different slew of questions, the majority of which will have to do with how he, James Harden and Chris Paul will share duties on offense.
One thing that won’t be questioned is Anthony’s character. And in today’s sports landscape, that is a wonderful thing.
Anthony is one of the most charitable athletes in any sport and has consistently been so since entering the NBA in 2003. Most recently, he worked to raise money for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
He has been active in every city he has lived in.
He opened the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center in his hometown of Baltimore in 2006. He also donated $1.5 million to the Living Classrooms Foundation — a nonprofit that provides innovative hands-on education, job training and community service programs for more than 35,000 children and young adults in Baltimore.
When he played for the Nuggets, he was a spokesman for the Family Resource Center in Denver.
He also is the head of the Carmelo Anthony Foundation, which gives back to several communities through donations and service.
Last November, his foundation worked with Feed the Children in Oklahoma City to provide food, toys and other items to 800 families in need.
He’s undoubtedly going to make his mark in the Houston area when it comes to bettering the community.
Anthony is intelligent and has strong opinions. He has spoken publicly on social issues many times. He also backs it up with action and charitable work.
Making a positive change
For an array of reasons — some drama with the New York Knicks mostly — Anthony has picked up a bad reputation in the basketball world.
He has a chance to prove himself on the court, which could really help the Rockets as they try to get past the Golden State Warriors next season.
Off the court, though, Anthony has nothing to prove. He has consistently been one of the best athletes around when it comes to using his celebrity and wealth to make positive change.
“I remember thinking about how Carmelo didn’t just complain about what was happening,” said Young, who now lives with his mother in Dallas. “It was a good conversation. And he thanked the police who came and all of us who were there listening. He was taking action.”