Latest news with #ArthurAsheAwardforCourage
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Simone Biles and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win top honors at ESPYS
LOS ANGELES — NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles won as best male and female athletes at the ESPYS on Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship last month while piling up hardware as league MVP and scoring champion. 'It's a dream come true and for dreams to come true it takes a village,' he said, thanking his wife, parents, brother and others. 'Those names probably don't mean much but to me they mean everything.' Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist, claimed the night's first award, best championship performance for her efforts at the Paris Games. She won three golds and a silver while helping the U.S. win its first team title since 2016. 'That was very unexpected, especially in a category of all men,' Biles said after kissing her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens. She beat out Stephen Curry, Freddie Freeman and Rory McIlroy. Biles' Olympic teammate, Suni Lee, won the best comeback award for overcoming two rare kidney diseases. She brought one of her doctors to the show. Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage from point guard Russell Westbrook. Robertson was president of the NBA Players' Association at the time of a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in 1970. It led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and eventually to higher salaries for all players. The 86-year-old Robertson, a 12-time All Star known as The Big O during his career, was the first Black president of any sports labor union. 'I knew there was work to do. There was a desperate need for players to have more career security, improved working conditions and other accommodations,' he said. 'In life, it's important to be persistent or as I have been called stubborn. Stubborn about what you believe in.' Comedian Shane Gillis' opening monologue as host of the show that honors the past year's top athletes and sports moments went over awkwardly. Early on, he called out various famous faces in the Dolby Theatre crowd, including retired WNBA star Diana Taurasi. Gillis said, 'Give it up for her' after calling her 'Deanna.' The camera showed an unsmiling Taurasi shaking her head. Gillis quickly caught his mistake, saying, 'My bad on that.' Gillis moved on to WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, who wasn't on hand. 'When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist fighting Black women,' he joked. While some in the audience laughed, others appeared uncomfortable. Gillis plowed on for 10 minutes, with jokes about President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, whose sex trafficking investigation has roiled the Justice Department and FBI. Gillis' performance drew mixed reviews on social media, with some calling him 'hilarious' and others 'cringey.' Gillis' initial joke about North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson drew a lot of laughs. 'A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bed time,' he said. 'They read 'The Very Horny Caterpillar,' 'The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill First' and of course the classic 'Goodnight Boobs.'' But the laughter lessened as Gillis continued. 'He won six Super Bowls. He's dating a hot 24 year old. Maybe if you guys won six Super Bowls you wouldn't be sitting next to a fat ugly dog wife.' Before closing it out, a smiling Gillis said, 'I see a lot of you don't like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about exactly how we all thought it was going to go. I don't know why this happened.' Taurasi and retired U.S. national women's soccer team star Alex Morgan shared the Icon Award in recognition of their careers and major impact on sports. The women touched their trophies together in a toast. 'Our mission has always been very similar,' Morgan said. 'We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it just as a generation before us did. We're standing on the shoulders of giants.' Taurasi, who retired in February after a 20-year basketball career, mentioned her parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina. She also had words for the next generation. 'Keep going, don't wait for someone to hand you anything, outwork them, be loyal, bring that damn fire every day,' she said. 'We're proof you can do it. We did it our way. No shortcuts, no apologies, and no regrets.' Former athletes David Walters and Erin Regan accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service, given to those who have served in a way that honors the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger. Walters, 37, earned a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a seven-time world championships medalist. He's now a Los Angeles city firefighter. Regan, 45, was a Wake Forest soccer player who spent one season in the pros before retiring to join the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Both Walters and Regan fought the deadly and destructive wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January. An emotional Katie Schumacher-Cawley accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance with her husband and children joining in the standing ovation. The Penn State women's volleyball coach was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in September. She continued coaching without missing a practice and became the first woman to guide a team to the NCAA national championship. 'Cancer changed my life but it didn't take it. It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit and it didn't take my team,' she said. Basketball player Cameron Boozer and track and field athlete Jane Hedengren were named the Gatorade Best Male and Female Players of the Year. Boozer will be playing at Duke in the fall, following in the collegiate footsteps of his father, Carlos, a former NBA All-Star. Hedengren will compete for BYU in her hometown of Provo, Utah.
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Simone Biles win top honors at ESPYS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles won as best male and female athletes at the ESPYS on Wednesday night. Hamilton's Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship last month while piling up hardware as league MVP and scoring champion. 'It's a dream come true and for dreams to come true it takes a village,' he said, thanking his wife, parents, brother and others. 'Those names probably don't mean much but to me they mean everything.' Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist, claimed the night's first award, best championship performance for her efforts at the Paris Games. She won three golds and a silver while helping the U.S. win its first team title since 2016. 'That was very unexpected, especially in a category of all men,' Biles said after kissing her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens. She beat out Stephen Curry, Freddie Freeman and Rory McIlroy. Biles' Olympic teammate, Suni Lee, won the best comeback award for overcoming two rare kidney diseases. She brought one of her doctors to the show. Arthur Ashe Award for Courage Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage from point guard Russell Westbrook. Robertson was president of the NBA Players' Association at the time of a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in 1970. It led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and eventually to higher salaries for all players. The 86-year-old Robertson, a 12-time All Star known as The Big O during his career, was the first Black president of any sports labor union. 'I knew there was work to do. There was a desperate need for players to have more career security, improved working conditions and other accommodations,' he said. 'In life, it's important to be persistent or as I have been called stubborn. Stubborn about what you believe in.' Host Shane Gillis' awkward monologue Comedian Shane Gillis ' opening monologue as host of the show that honors the past year's top athletes and sports moments went over awkwardly. Early on, he called out various famous faces in the Dolby Theatre crowd, including retired WNBA star Diana Taurasi. Gillis said, 'Give it up for her' after calling her 'Deanna.' The camera showed an unsmiling Taurasi shaking her head. Gillis quickly caught his mistake, saying, 'My bad on that.' Gillis moved on to WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, who wasn't on hand. 'When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist fighting Black women,' he joked. While some in the audience laughed, others appeared uncomfortable. Gillis plowed on for 10 minutes, with jokes about President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, whose sex trafficking investigation has roiled the Justice Department and FBI. Gillis' performance drew mixed reviews on social media, with some calling him 'hilarious' and others 'cringey.' Gillis' initial joke about North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson drew a lot of laughs. 'A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bed time,' he said. 'They read 'The Very Horny Caterpillar,' 'The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill First' and of course the classic 'Goodnight Boobs.'' But the laugher lessened as Gillis continued. 'He won six Super Bowls. He's dating a hot 24 year old. Maybe if you guys won six Super Bowls you wouldn't be sitting next to a fat ugly dog wife.' Before closing it out, a smiling Gillis said, 'I see a lot of you don't like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about exactly how we all thought it was going to go. I don't know why this happened.' Icon Award Taurasi and retired U.S. national women's soccer team star Alex Morgan shared the Icon Award in recognition of their careers and major impact on sports. The women touched their trophies together in a toast. 'Our mission has always been very similar,' Morgan said. 'We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it just as a generation before us did. We're standing on the shoulders of giants.' Taurasi, who retired in February after a 20-year basketball career, mentioned her parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina. She also had words for the next generation. 'Keep going, don't wait for someone to hand you anything, outwork them, be loyal, bring that damn fire every day,' she said. 'We're proof you can do it. We did it our way. No shortcuts, no apologies, and no regrets.' Pat Tillman Award for Service Former athletes David Walters and Erin Regan accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service, given to those who have served in a way that honors the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger. Walters, 37, earned a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a seven-time world championships medalist. He's now a Los Angeles city firefighter. Regan, 45, was a Wake Forest soccer player who spent one season in the pros before retiring to join the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Both Walters and Regan fought the deadly and destructive wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January. Jimmy V Award An emotional Katie Schumacher-Cawley accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance with her husband and children joining in the standing ovation. The Penn State women's volleyball coach was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in September. She continued coaching without missing a practice and became the first woman to guide a team to the NCAA national championship. 'Cancer changed my life but it didn't take it. It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit and it didn't take my team,' she said. Gatorade Male and Female Players of the Year Basketball player Cameron Boozer and track and field athlete Jane Hedengren were named the Gatorade Best Male and Female Players of the Year. Boozer will be playing at Duke in the fall, following in the collegiate footsteps of his father, Carlos, a former NBA All-Star. Hedengren will compete for BYU in her hometown of Provo, Utah. ___ AP sports: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? 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USA Today
30-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oscar Robertson to receive Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for work shaping free agency
Free agency is among one of the most exciting parts of the sports calendar, as athletes are able to pick and choose where they want to play and cement a legacy. The man who helped make it possible will be honored for it. Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson will be honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2025 ESPY Awards, USA TODAY Sports exclusively reports, for his work is establishing free agency in the NBA. The award is given to a "deserving member of the sports world who has made a difference beyond the field of play by fighting for what they believe in, ultimately impacting people worldwide." Known as "The Big O," Robertson remains one of the most talented basketball players to ever play the sports. A multi-time college basketball player of the year at Cincinnati, Robertson was the 1964 NBA MVP, an NBA champion, a 12-time All-Star and in 1962, became the first player in league history to average a triple-double in a season. But for all of the on-court achievements, it's what Robertson did off the court that left an everlasting impact in the sport. During his playing days, NBA teams retained the rights of players, even if their contracts expired. The only way players could really move teams was either by trade or being released, and free agency was rare. Robertson became president of the NBA Players Association in 1965, and in 1970, he filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA. The lawsuit aimed to block the league's merger with the ABA and end contract restrictions players faced from the moment they were drafted. Owners pushed back on the suit and threatened the league wouldn't survive if players were given more power. "Many players shied away from the fight, worried that they would lose their jobs, but Robertson persisted, acutely aware that the status quo was unjust and unnecessary," ESPN said. The lawsuit delayed the NBA-ABA merger and in 1976, the players association and the league reached a settlement that established restricted free agency. While it didn't guarantee players full freedom in free agency, it laid the groundwork for higher player salaries and for the free agency the NBA knows today, where players can freely decide where they want to play. "Acting as an advocate for players' free agency to improve their lives and the NBA was one of the most important acts I did in my career, and I will forever be proud of the impact it had on all professional sports,' Robertson said in a statement. "It's an incredible achievement to be recognized with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for my advocacy on and off the court." Named after the transcendent tennis player, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award was first awarded at the inaugural ESPY Awards in 1983, when it was given to Jim Valvano and he delivered his iconic " don't give up" speech. The 2024 winner was former NFL player and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) advocate Steve Gleason. The 2025 ESPY Awards will air July 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Hosted by comedian Shane Gillis, it will air on ABC and stream on ESPN+.
