Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony named one of nation's most influential Hispanics
By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published October 17, 2008 at 3:44 p.m.
BG_0095 Carmelo Anthony talks to the media about winning a Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with Team U.S.A. at the Forza Athletic Club in Denver Colo. Tues. Sept. 2, 2008. (BARRY GUTIERREZ/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS)
Among the nation's most influential Hispanics are Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, opera singer Elaine Alvarez — and the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony, whose father was born in Puerto Rico, made Hispanic Business magazine's annual list this year along with Federico Pena, the former Denver mayor and national co-chair of Barack Obama's campaign.
Asked to name prominent Hispanics from Colorado, many would probably first think of Pena, Sen. Ken Salazar or construction executive Linda Alvarado.
But Anthony?
Even the Nuggets star seemed surprised.
"I want to be No. 1," Anthony said after learning he was on the list. "That's my goal. I've got to see who's on the list and see what I can do to top (them)."
Many sports fans may not not have known about Anthony's family ties to Puerto Rico. His father died when he was 2.
More than half of the magazine's 100 picks come from California, with 40 in the Los Angeles area. The report includes figures from government, business, education and the arts and entertainment field.
Others on the list include San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Luis Castillo, author Junot Diaz, U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, health care executive Castulo de la Rocha and Girl Scouts of the USA chair Patricia Diaz Dennis. Baseball star Manny Ramirez is another.
"It hasn't always been easy, but these are the leaders who, through the force of their personality and their actions, have shown us that it can be done," the authors of the October report wrote.
Anthony has excelled as a basketball player but has struggled on and off the court. He has had several run-ins with the law, most recently with a DUI arrest. In 2006, he was suspended for 15 games for participating a brawl during a game with the Knicks.
The 6-foot-8 forward has hired three marketing and public relations firms in the past year to promote his brand name or his foundation.
The 24-year-old former Syracuse University phenom said he plans to visit Puerto Rico next summer and thinks he still has family there.
"It would be the first time I actually get to really be there for a long period of time," Anthony said. "People can really see me and interact while I'm there."
Staff writer Aaron J. Lopez contributed to this report.
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October 17, 2008
3:50 p.m.
Jason writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
October 17, 2008
3:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
Squatch writes:
Oh No. All the Brown skin hater will be on this attacking this story.
October 17, 2008
3:58 p.m.
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sawzallartist writes:
Concentrate on defense melo....the dollars will come
October 17, 2008
4:03 p.m.
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BroncoDan writes:
Concentrate on being an upstanding citizen and a giving back more than you get, instead of acting like a gangster, then, MAYBE you can be in the top 10 on this list.
October 17, 2008
4:08 p.m.
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davies writes:
Geez I thought he was black. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
October 17, 2008
4:14 p.m.
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Barron writes:
davies, guess what? There are black hispanics.
October 17, 2008
4:38 p.m.
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davies writes:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
October 17, 2008
4:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
musicman80 writes:
Goldenratio- shut it. You need to be a role model... it's people like you that i fear. You raise up kids to be selfish and annoying like yourself.
**had a friend read Goldenratio's comment to me.
October 17, 2008
5:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jason writes:
Okay, I got a role model who deserves to be on this list, none other than Carmelo's former teammate, Eduardo Najera (born in Mexico). Granted, he doesn't put up the stats Anthony does, and is not as high - profile. Najera has a degree in Sociology from OU. He's also a recipient of the Chip Hilton Player of the year award. An award for high character players, on and off the hard wood. Among other things, he's a freaking Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations drug control program. And to top it all off, Najera established the Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement, which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations. He also got another award for outstanding charity work in the Denver community.
Esto es un latina que deseo que los niños en mi comunidad miren hasta. Pero Carmelo vende el Jersey y pone a personas en los asientos. Esto es justo otra reflejo triste en nuestra sociedad. Dios Bendice MusicMan.
October 17, 2008
6:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
emb6903 writes:
Broncodan- Melo is probably the #1 NBA player who gives back to the community, this guy has given Millions to charity and donated around 2 mil to his College to get better facilities, Melo might have his run ins with the law but he is a good hearted human being that does give back. Please do not comment on things you dont know about, THANKS!
Erick
October 17, 2008
7:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
COLibertarian writes:
BroncoDan. What emb6903 said. Confused on your point "give more than he gets" Accolades, celebrity, OR $$$$$$$$
Giving more than he gets in THAT context would cause a dilemna......... Financial ruin. Living beyond ones means. Not a good thing to be pushing for BroncoDan.
October 17, 2008
7:33 p.m.
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TheVentilator writes:
Melo is a Brother.
October 17, 2008
8:04 p.m.
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Highcountry writes:
Melo's having fun with it. His answers aren't shallow. They're great.
October 17, 2008
10:12 p.m.
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Hstowell writes:
How does this Thugget get such a rating? He's the same guy who showed up on tape with the "no snitching" garbage and then wouldn't back down from that. He's hardly a role model and is just one of several thugs on the team. There are plenty of other Hispanics in professional sports and other walks of life that are deserving. Guys like Willie Taveras. This clown, no way.
October 17, 2008
10:23 p.m.
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jh49 writes:
So he's black AND Hispanic? He celebrates Kwanza AND Cinco de Mayo?
October 18, 2008
12:12 a.m.
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snow writes:
There aren't any influential Hispanics, so the had to pick a black man!
October 18, 2008
6:40 a.m.
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Gurinski writes:
newsaddict: 5 de Mayo is a Mexican Holiday, Melo is 1/2 Puerto Rican.
October 18, 2008
8:50 a.m.
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JackieMC writes:
Sounds about right, considering.
October 18, 2008
9:04 a.m.
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robertzimmerman writes:
How is a basketball player more influential than a US Senator? Ridiculous.
October 18, 2008
9:39 a.m.
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Catalan writes:
Goldenratio, if you want to sound cool and bash Melo in Spanish, at least don't use an automatic translator, you loser.
October 18, 2008
9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
Existentalism writes:
This punk kid is nothing more than a gangster wanna be thug, and he continually proves it al the time.
Certainly he is by no means any kind of an upstanding citizen, if he were he would be donating some of his millions to helping sick people, or to fighting the world environment crisis.
October 18, 2008
9:43 a.m.
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mokey writes:
He is more recognizable because within the Black and Hispanic communities they are (generally) more familiar with sports personalities than with politicians and scholars.
Besides, if you consider some of the things that politicians do (Salazar, Tapia) in terms of how they vote and their presiding over the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, well are these really **better** role models?
October 18, 2008
9:47 a.m.
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Catalan writes:
Existentialism, Melo is one of the athletes that donates most money to help people --think of his 3-million donation to build a Syracuse facility.
I can't understand why some alleged Nuggets fans like to bash Melo, the best player the team has had in the last 20 years.
October 18, 2008
9:55 a.m.
Suggest removal
mikeb80602 writes:
Cinco de Mayo is not a Puerto Rico celebration. It's was a battle in Mexico that resulted in the defeat of the French Army.
October 18, 2008
8:26 p.m.
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Aok706 writes:
I thought he just got a DUI not even a year ago...are you kidding me. I guess you can get away with anything when you are a athlete. Maybe I should teach my 1 year old how to dribble a ball so he too can reap the benenfits of these idiots.
October 18, 2008
9:03 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
He's on the most influential list. It is not necessarily a "good role model" list. One can be influenced in many different ways, positively or negatively! I think more people, including children, are familiar with his name and the fact that he plays for the Nuggets, than they are with politicians.
Kudos to him for all of the good things he has done!
October 18, 2008
9:20 p.m.
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moadeeb writes:
I heard he is now going to change his name to carmello 'UNO CINCO'... But he has to buy all his nuggets and team usa jerseys first..
October 19, 2008
11:56 a.m.
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dcolon47 writes:
hey NEWSADDICT, cinco de mayo is a Mexican day and does not have anything to do with Puerto Rico.
October 20, 2008
6:58 a.m.
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italiantony writes:
PS... the mexicans lost that war...they won a battle and nepoleon came back and wiped out everyone, he backed out cause it was too expensive to keep sending re-enforcements. kudos to the mexican's for never giving up ... cinco de mayo should never be reconized in america... thats like having the 4th of july in mexico???