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Carmelo Anthony's foundation is bringing aid to victims of the Flint water crisis

You're a good dude, Melo.

By Joe Flynn
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

There are far more depressing -- and infinitely more important -- news stories out there than yet another New York Knicks implosion. Nobody knows this better than Carmelo Anthony, subject of dozens of "What is he thinking? What are his plans?" articles from the NBA press in recent weeks.

As it turns out, Melo occasionally ponders the world outside of basketball. He is teaming up with his good buddies Chris Paul and LeBron James to help the victims of the Flint water crisis:

If you had to choose one athlete charity to fund, it would be the Carmelo Anthony Foundation. Melo's foundation has been lauded as a rare example of an effective, efficient athlete charity. There's a great deal more to the Flint relief effort than just sending a truck full of water up the highway, and you can trust Melo's group to get supplies into the hands of those who need it most.

The Flint crisis has mostly dropped out of the news cycle; it may be one of the worst man-made disasters in American history, but that doesn't mean people are going to pay attention for more than a week or two. It is wonderful to see one of the NBA's most famous athletes keeping this story in the public eye. Melo's foundation does a great deal of under-the-radar work, but the Flint crisis is too important for any of that. Anyone with a platform to remind the world of the struggles those people still face should do so, even if it comes in the form of a bland tweet to 7.41 million followers.

We could (and probably will) spend months debating the pure basketball merits of Carmelo Anthony staying on the Knicks. But we should never lose sight of the fact that our beloved Knicks employ one of the league's great humanitarians.

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