If you've been on any kind of media recently, you've heard about Caitlyn Jenner winning ESPY's Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Typically, this is a sport-oriented award but it is not limited to sports-related people or actions. This award is presented annually to individuals whose contributions "transcend sports." These are individuals that go the extra mile and are often at the top of their sport, such as; Muhammad Ali, Dean Smith, and Cathy Freeman. Although this award is usually given to top athletes, it isn't always.
From the time Caitlyn's name was first suggested for the award, many people expressed their opinion on it. So without surprise when she actually won the award, people were unhappy. This day in age, whenever someone is unhappy with a decision you will find them posting about it on social media. On this issue in particular, people seemed rather bothered by the decision. Why?
Among the nominees for the award was supposed "runner up" Army Veteran Noah Galloway. Galloway lost parts of his left arm and leg in an explosion while on active duty in Iraq. This same man took third place in "Dancing With The Stars," impressive right? I can empathize with those who believe that this man should have won over Caitlyn, but he did not. The ESPY organization does not go into detail about how the award's recipient is selected, but it's obvious Caitlyn Jenner won it for a reason.
I'd like to acknowledge the fact that it's extremely difficult to decide who is the most courageous. Courage is subjective and relative. It's not easy to measure heroism, our world is full of everyday heroes who will never receive recognition for their actions. The fact that we have multiple courageous candidates for this award just goes to show that there is good in this world.
People say that Caitlyn Jenner shouldn't have received the award simply because her bravery has "nothing to do with sports." They could also argue that since 'Bruce' was the athlete, she should be disqualified because she's 'Caitlyn' now. I'd like to say that this argument is flawed seeing as though the award is not specifically for contributions relating to sports. Nelson Mandela, politician and philanthropist, won the award in 2009 for his brave contributions. It's evident that people only seem to be bothered with the fact that a transgender individual was recognized.
Caitlyn Jenner deserved the ESPY award because, to me, courage is the urge and strength one possesses to achieve their goal. Courage is being able to accept yourself for who you are and encouraging people to do the same. It's saddens me to realize that people aren't as accepting in this world as I'd like them to be. Being yourself isn't easy. People will constantly judge you and bring you down so being able to overlook that is admirable. We live in a world where being gay or transgendered is frowned up, which often leads in higher suicide rates. Caitlyn isn't just a role model for transgenders, she inspires everyone to be different.
Caitlyn Jenner's acceptance speech can be found here.
