NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 25: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks reacts in the second half of their game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on December 25, 2014 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

VICE Sports is providing another video outlet for athletes to tell their stories and share part of their off-the-field lives. The site has launched a new sports channel called The Clubhouse, in which sports stars will host their own video series, and DraftKings has signed on as a sponsor.

As reported by the New York Times‘ Sydney Ember, VICE Media has signed Carmelo Anthony to headline one of The Clubhouse’s first shows. The series will be titled “Stay Melo,” and feature the New York Knicks forward providing a glimpse into other sports cultures around the world.

The first episode was posted on Tuesday and follows Anthony traveling to Cuba, looking at the country’s growing enthusiasm for soccer and visits an exhibition between the Cuban national team and the New York Cosmos. (Anthony recently purchased a North American Soccer League expansion franchise in Puerto Rico.)

In another installment, he’ll go to his hometown of Baltimore to examine how sports and social issues cross within that community. Subsequent programs will feature Anthony in San Juan and Brooklyn. And the content won’t always be sports-related, as Anthony will talk to New York street artist Swoon in one of the episodes.

VICE Sports is joining what’s developing into a crowded space in digital video content featuring and produced by athletes, eager to show their interests and perspectives beyond the playing field without the delivery system of traditional mainstream media. According to the NYT article, Anthony will be a guiding force in The Clubhouse’s look and feel, though his financial involvement with the venture is unclear.

The Players Tribune recently announced it would be making a bigger push into original video with its “From Somewhere” series, focusing on individual athletes talking about their upbringings and paths to success. Other video series produced by Derek Jeter’s media venture include “The Players POV” and the documentary-style “Singular Focus.” Bleacher Report has also provided an outlet for athletes to produce original video content with its site Uninterrupted.

“You don’t have a voice as an athlete. You can’t go in there and say, ‘Oh we lost the game tonight but…’ Or, ‘You know we won the game tonight but how about this….’ ‘We don’t have a voice,” Anthony said in a VICE Sports post announcing his series. “When we do speak out as athletes, we’re looked upon as arrogant, we’re cocky. So for me at VICE, this was a platform where I could create for my own voice, for my own self, tell the stories that I wanted to tell.”

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will host another show on The Clubhouse, though plans for his series have not yet been revealed.

[New York Times]

About Ian Casselberry

Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.

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