| Arthur Ashe Courage Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | "reflect[ing] the spirit of Arthur Ashe, possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs"[1] |
| Location | Dolby Theatre,Los Angeles (2024)[2] |
| Presented by | ESPN |
| First award | 1993 |
| Currently held by | Steve Gleason |
| Website | Official website |
TheArthur Ashe Courage Award (sometimes called theArthur Ashe Award for Courage orArthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award) is presented as part of theESPY Awards. It is named for the American tennis playerArthur Ashe. Although it is a sport-oriented award, it is not limited to sports-related people or actions, as it is presented annually to individuals whose contributions "transcend sports".[3] According toESPN, the organization responsible for giving out the award, "recipients reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe, possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost".[1] The award was presented as part of the ESPY Awards ceremony at theMicrosoft Theater in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2019.[4] The 2020 ESPYs ceremony was held virtually due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, with the Ashe Award being one of the few awards presented, and the 2021 ceremony was held in New York City.
The inaugural award, made at the 1993 ESPY Awards, was presented to the Americancollege basketball player, coach, and broadcasterJim Valvano.[5][6] In 1993, ESPN partnered with Valvano to create theV Foundation which presents the annualJimmy V Award to "a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination."[7][8] Suffering from cancer, Valvano gave the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award acceptance speech which "brought a howling, teary-eyedMadison Square Garden to its feet".[9] Valvano died two months after receiving the award.[9] Although the award is usually given to individuals, it has been presented to multiple recipients on seven occasions: former athletes onUnited Airlines Flight 93 (2002),Pat and Kevin Tillman (2003),Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah andJim MacLaren (2005), Roia Ahmad andShamila Kohestani (2006),Trevor Ringland andDavid Cullen (2007), andTommie Smith,John Carlos (2008), and survivors of theUSA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal (2018). The accolade has been presented posthumously on five occasions.
The award has not been without controversy: in June 2015, ESPN's announcement ofCaitlyn Jenner as the recipient of that year's Arthur Ashe Courage Award led to significant criticism among online commenters and some members of the media,[10] withBob Costas calling the decision to give Jenner the award a "crass exploitation play".[11] Many critics of the Jenner award consideredLauren Hill, whoplayed college basketball despite suffering from abrain tumor that would claim her life only a few months later, a more worthy recipient. Others citedNoah Galloway, anIraq War double amputee who competes in extreme sports and was also a finalist in the20th season ofDancing with the Stars in 2015, as a worthy candidate.[12][13][14]
| † | Indicates posthumous award |
|---|
| Year | Image | Recipient(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |  | Jim Valvano | American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster, died fromadenocarcinoma | [6] |
| 1994 | – | Steve Palermo | Major League Baseballumpire paralysed from the waist down after attempting to prevent a mugging | [15] |
| 1995 |  | Howard Cosell | Journalist, creator ofABC SportsBeat, the first serious investigativesports journalist program | [16] |
| 1996 | – | Loretta Claiborne | Multi-sports Special Olympics athlete | [17] |
| 1997 |  | Muhammad Ali | Boxer, an example of racial pride forAfrican Americans and resistance to white domination during thecivil rights movement | [6] |
| 1998 |  | Dean Smith | College basketball coach for 36 years at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | [18] |
| 1999 | .jpg) | Billie Jean King | Tennis player, campaigned for equal prize money in both men's and women's tennis | [19] |
| 2000 | - | William David Sanders† | High school sports coach killed defending students during theColumbine High School massacre | [20][21] |
| 2001 | .jpg) | Cathy Freeman | Track and field athlete, firstIndigenous Australian person to become anOlympic Games gold medallist | [22] |
| 2002 |  | Todd Beamer† Mark Bingham† Tom Burnett† Jeremy Glick† | Athletes onboardUnited Airlines Flight 93(National Memorial pictured) who tried to reclaim control from the hijackers | [20] |
| 2003 |  | Pat Tillman(pictured) Kevin Tillman | Pat was anAmerican football player who played for theArizona Cardinals in theNFL, his brother Kevin aMinor League Baseball player; both enlisted, forgoing their sporting careers | [20][23] |
| 2004 | .jpg) | George Weah | Association footballer who became a UNGoodwill Ambassador | [24] |
| 2005 | – | Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah Jim MacLaren | Yeboah brought attention to disabled people in Ghana, himself with a deformed leg, by cycling across the country. McLaren became a successfultriathlete after having his leg amputated. | [25] |
| 2006 |  | Roia Ahmad Shamila Kohestani(pictured) | Championing girls' and women's sport, specifically theAfghan women's association football team | [26] |
| 2007 |  | Trevor Ringland David Cullen(pictured) | Members ofPeacePlayers International which uses basketball to unite and educate children | [27] |
| 2008 |  | Tommie Smith John Carlos | Olympic track athletes, medalists at the1968 Summer Olympics, who gave theBlack Power salute on the podium | [28] |
| 2009 | .jpg) | Nelson Mandela | South African President, his presentation of the1995 Rugby World Cup toFrancois Pienaar was described as "an iconic moment in sports history" | [29] |
| 2010 | – | Edward Arthur Thomas† | High school American football coach, shot and killed by a former student | [20] |
| 2011 | – | Dewey Bozella | Boxer, wrongly imprisoned for 26 years | [30] |
| 2012 |  | Pat Summitt | College basketball coach with, as of 2018[update], the most wins in NCAA basketball history, retired with early-onsetAlzheimer's disease | [31] |
| 2013 |  | Robin Roberts | Broadcaster, increased awareness in bone marrow donation through public coverage of her own illness | [32] |
| 2014 |  | Michael Sam | American football player, first publicly gay player to bedrafted in the NFL | [6] |
| 2015 |  | Caitlyn Jenner | Former Olympic track and field athlete and transgender television personality | [33] |
| 2016 | Zaevion Dobson† | Fifteen-year-old American football player who used his body to shield three girls from a drive-by shooting | [20] | |
| 2017 |  | Eunice Kennedy Shriver† | Founder of the Special Olympics | [6] |
| 2018 |  | Survivors of theUSA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal (TheFierce Five pictured) | Over 300 girls and women, mostly gymnasts, including but not limited toRachael Denhollander,Simone Biles,McKayla Maroney,Aly Raisman,Jordyn Wieber,Gabby Douglas, andMaggie Nichols, who survived the abuse ofLarry Nassar, spoke out about and shined a light on sexual abuse in sports, and demanded change and accountability | [34] |
| 2019 |  | Bill Russell | First African American coach in NBA history, a role he held while also continuing to play | [35] |
| 2020 | .jpg) | Kevin Love | Advocacy for openness about mental health | [36] |
| 2021 | _(cropped).jpg) | Maya Moore | Walked away from basketball to help free a wrongfully convicted man. | [37] |
| 2022 | .jpg) | Vitali Klitschko | Defended Ukraine as a soldier along with his brotherWladimir Klitschko and was vocally critical ofVladimir Putin, using his position of mayor (longest serving mayor of Kyiv) to do so | [38] |
| 2023 |  | United States women's national soccer team | Fought for equal pay | [39] |
| 2024 |  | Steve Gleason | Advocate forALS | [40] |
| 2025 |  | Oscar Robertson | Fought forfree agency in the NBA | [41] |