NBA star Carmelo Anthony marches with protesters in Baltimore

NBA star and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony joined protesters during their march towards City Hall Thursday afternoon.

The riots have hit home for the 30-year-old New York Knicks star as he walked on the same streets while he was growing up. After Monday's riots occurred, Anthony posted on his Instagram page that it was "shocking" and "we need to protect our city, not destroy it."

"It definitely was disturbing, but I understand it," Anthony told FOX 5's Marina Marraco during the march. "Our community is fed up. But we got to be smart about it. If we want something, we got to speak up. I think that the biggest problem in our community is our youth is not being heard. They feel like they don't have a voice.

"I want to create a platform that gets them talking and get people to hear what they have to say. That's the biggest disconnect right now."

Anthony played basketball at Towson Catholic High School during his first three years of high school. He told us that everyone marching here wants peace and justice.

"We got to be patient with that," said Anthony. "Kind of start believing in our system. I know it's hard to say that right now … but we have to all band together and try to start rebuilding this city."

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