On Sunday, April 3, 2022, the National Basketball Association (NBA) unveiled The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award. Los Angeles Lakers Forward, Carmelo Anthony, became the first ever recipient of the award given to a current NBA player for “pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged,” according to the NBA.com website.
Part of the NBA’s celebration of the award featured Game Changer Founder, Sean Sheppard, leading a community forum that included interviewing award designers, Lacy Talley, James Adams Jr., and Jason Garrett, while surrounded by African-American youth from Project Blue LA. The designers discussed the importance of using one’s platform to bring about positive social change, the creative process itself, and engaged in a brief Q & A session with the youth. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mitch Richmond were on hand to share words of wisdom and encouragement with everyone in attendance.
Mr. Sheppard was selected to lead the discussion due to his extensive experience with moderating law enforcement/community relations discussions through Game Changer, as well as his experience with moderating e-learning social justice conversations among employees of Fortune 500 companies, institutions of higher learning, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The entire unedited discussion can be viewed via the NBA Cares Youtube Channel: