LOS ANGELES: LeBron James won five trophies, including best male athlete and best NBA player, at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday night when frivolity gave way to a James-led call to end gun violence and racial profiling.
The show honoring the year’s best athletes and sports moments opened on a somber note, with James and fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade standing four abreast on stage addressing the recent shootings of blacks by white police officers.
“The urgency to create change is at an all-time high,” Anthony said.
Paul, the nephew of a police officer, recited the names of several men who have been fatally shot.