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Why The ESPYs Are A Joke

ESPN's Looming Downfall

Varun Vishnubhatla
Apr 20, 2017
Virginia Commonwealth University
433
Why The ESPYs Are A Joke

Every summer, ESPN hosts its own version of the Oscars--the ESPYs. They hand out awards such as Best Male/Female Athlete, Best Play, Best Championship Performance, etc... Once upon a time this used to be an event I loved to watch. What's better than re-watching the year's highlights and seeing a bunch of world-famous athletes and celebrities in one room? Meanwhile, the host would crack some jokes, and it was an overall enjoyable event. That was until the last few ESPYs; those just sucked.

This year's was a culmination of all things wrong with sports media today. For starters, LeBron James won Best Finals Performance. LeBron James didn't even win the finals. In fact, he's 2-4 in the NBA finals for his career. But ESPN loves LeBron James too much to let him walk without winning something. Steph Curry won best NBA player. If anything, these two should have been switched. It's true that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA - and has been for some time now. It is also true that Steph Curry had a finals to remember, being the leader of the team that actually won and all.

Caitlyn Jenner won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. I'm sorry, but Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner hasn't actually done anything productive in SPORTS for the last thirty years. I'm not downplaying the courageousness of what she did, but this is a sports award show. Now, if there were a shortage of candidates for this award, I wouldn't have minded...but there weren't. For example: Lauren Hill was a NCAAW basketball player who fought through brain cancer to play (and score) in a college basketball game. She passed away this year from the illness.

Ronda Rousey won both Best Female Athlete and Best Fighter. Last time I checked, Floyd Mayweather was the best fighter on the planet (and I'm not a even a fan of the guy). Rousey, however, did have a memorable quote taking a jab at Mayweather's numerous domestic violence charges, after he said he didn't know who Rousey was.


Essentially, the ESPYs are a popularity contest or a "feel-good" show, not a sports awards show. ESPN is slowly moving away from being a sports network and turning into TMZ for athletes. It's losing its allure, and ESPN is losing its credibility as a sports source.

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