Obama and his friends

OBAMA-BACKING NBA STAR DENIES TIES TO DRUG DEALERS AFTER APPEARING IN PRO-DRUG ‘STOP SNITCHING’ DVD

Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets is something of a star since winning a bronze medal in the Olympics. He also apparently hangs out with a dubious crowd.

An underground DVD for sale in Baltimore, MD, titled “Stop Snitching,” features Anthony as one of its participants. Anthony is originally from Baltimore, MD.

The DVD in question is essentially an infomercial for inner city youth about blowing the whistle on drug dealers. The catch is that instead of telling them to blow the whistle, the explicit message of the DVD is not to do so. Actual drug dealers are featured on the DVD talking about the consequences of cooperating with police (“snitching”), with one even going so far as to say snitches should be taken care of by “putting a hole in their head.”

Anthony is present for all of this, and there is even a moment in the video where one of the other participants jokes with him about his bronze medal, calling it a “giant penny.” Anthony claims he threw it in a river.

See the exchange below (Warning! Adult language):

ABC 7 Denver has more:

The DVD showed up for sale for $10 within the last week on Baltimore’s streets. The production includes music, dancing and spoken messages, with clips showing men stuffing wads of cash into their pockets, driving in convertibles, smoking marijuana and flashing diamond-encrusted watches.

In one segment, Anthony stands on a street, wearing a red shirt and baseball hat and laughing while another man talks about life on the street, snitches and the NBA. Anthony, 20, doesn’t respond to any of the comments about violence, except to laugh. The credits of the DVD include a special thanks to “Melo,” Anthony’s nickname.

The DVD is produced by an alleged drug dealer named Skinny Shuge.

Carmelo’s agent, Calvin Andrews, told 7SPORTS that Carmelo did not know he would be in the video.[...]

The DVD’s cover bears the title, “Stop Snitching,” and a photocopied image and name for the apparent artist, “Skinny Suge.” The cover also has photocopied images of what appear to be dead shooting victims.

Anthony has defended his participation, saying that the “stop snitching” message is pervasive, even in mainstream music videos, while strictly denying that he associates with drug dealers. However, community activists have complained about his participation, claiming that his appearance will make drug dealing look like the only route to success.

Along with his basketball career, Anthony has been a vocal supporter of President Barack Obama.