An Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, ESPY for short, is a way of recognizing individuals and teams for their talents, on and off of the field. During this time of honoring people, a certain award is given out that is called Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
On June 1, 2015, Caitlyn Jenner was nominated to receive this prestigious award during the ESPY's on July 15. Controversy began almost immediately through Twitter, Facebook, and blog posts regarding if Jenner fit the criteria. Some felt very strongly that she would be deserving of this award through her struggles as once being the greatest athlete in the world to now a transgender. Others thought individuals like Noah Galloway, a double amputee Army Veteran who competes in Crossfit marathons and races, or Lauren Hill, a 19 year old basketball player at Mount St. Joseph who continued to play the sport she loved while suffering from terminal brain cancer, were more deserving.
Either way you look at it, the individuals above have all possessed courage in different ways. But before deciding on which stance to take, it's essential to remind ourselves what this award stands for.
Here's a little background of the man behind the award, along with others who have shown such courage like Arthur Ashe.
Arthur Ashe was the first African American to play tennis for the United States. During his career, Ashe won three Grand Slam titles and was ranked No.1 in the world. While his skills and achievements were very impressing, the color of his skin opposed threat on his career. At a successful time in his life, in 1969, Ashe was denied the chance to play in the South African Open. Ashe used his perseverance as fuel to bring awareness of apartheid. At the time, South Africa was still segregated and very few African Americans were given the opportunity to play sports. Despite his inability to play tennis at the South African Open, Ashe went on to win titles at the Australian open and the Wimbledon. In 1992, the world became even more supportive of Ashe as he announced his battle with AIDS. The same courage and perseverance as once an African American tennis player, was still inside Ashe as he took on life off the court. Ashe became an activist for AIDS and brought courage to others to fight the battle with AIDS.
Over 22 years, many individuals have shown such charisma and courage as Ashe did. One of the well known individuals to be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award was Jim Valvano.
Jim Valvano was a basketball coach for North Caroline State when they beat Houston in the national championship game in 1983. In a game that the odds were against the wolf pack, Valvano found courage in the midst of the troubles. Valvano brought support and enthusiasm to his players, which in turn gave them the strength to win against Houston.
His courage didn't stop with basketball. In 1992, Valvano was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer. With his health failing, Valvano knew his time was about to end on this earth. In the midst of his struggle with cancer, he stood strong and enthusiastic. He took his situation as fuel to light a fire on the fight against cancer. He created The V Foundation of Cancer Research so that others could hopefully live from this disease.
Then in 1993, once given the award, Jimmy delivered the “Never Give Up" Speech that still sends chills down my spine when I watch it. A memorable quote that portrays the type of character who should be awarded The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is:
“I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get your emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm," to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality."
Another influential leader was Nelson Mandela. In 2009, Mandela was given the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his impact on the racial split of blacks and whites in South Africa. In 1995, the violence between races was intensifying and Mandela took notice of it. In that year, Mandela brought the Rugby World Cup to South Africa where it brought recognition to the world that racial discrimination was still an issue. In the midst of an angry and un-unified country, Mandela demonstrated with such courage on his strive to make South America united. Though his affiliation with sports may not be as great as others, Mandela's decision to host the Rugby world cup brought two opposing worlds together. The country started to see one another as human beings.
In 2012, Pat Summitt was awarded the Arthur Ashe award for her will to teach and change the world of ladies basketball. Summit's recognition of courage began when she was just 22 years old coaching the University of Tennessee woman's basketball team. From there, she fought various struggles to get her players recognized in the sports world. Summitt fought to get the women more television exposure so that there would be change. She set a high bar for them athletically and academically. But what set Summitt apart from other coaches was her courage. Summitt dealt with obstacles outside of basketball, such as six miscarriages and arguably her greatest challenge, the fight with Alzheimer's. Many of us would have thrown in the towel, but not Summitt. Summitt took on her battle head on with the public eye watching her every move. With people wanting her to quit, she remained courageous through the fight and coached her girls to achieve yet another SEC championship. Without her courage, woman's basketball wouldn't be the same.
Along with the individuals above, there were others like Muhammad Ali. A professional boxer who opened the non-profit Muhammad Ali Center for Peace and Justice seeking justice in our society on our views of one another. There was also Patrick Tillman who left his successful career in football to serve for our country, an individual who set aside selfishness to put his life on the line to protect us.
These are just a few of the great influential people to impact the world of sports and life itself.
It's been 22 years since the award was first given to Jimmy V. and the awareness towards this award has been recognized greatly in this year alone. To some, this award means standing up for a community of people to be their voice. To some, it's using the skills they learned from the sport they love, to applying it towards life's struggles. And to others, this award is about giving it to someone who has fought hard, and in the midst of the fight, never let it over power them.
So as we interrupt and view who deserves this award, it's necessary to look back at previous winners because they are prominent examples that courage is found in various ways.
