Caitlyn Jenner Allegedly Selected For Arthur Ashe Award Over A Disabled Iraq Veteran
The ESPYs are terrible. It is a nauseating pat-me-on-the-back-for-my-diving-catch award show where celebrities and athletes meet for one long night of #sponsored, #branding entertainment in Los Angeles. That being said, the ESPYs usually do one thing right: The Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Previous winners include Muhammad Ali, Stuart Scott, Jim Valvano, Robin Roberts, Nelson Mandela and Michael Sam. Scott, who gave an inspiring speech at last year’s ESPY awards, died of cancer in January.
So, when ESPN announced on Monday that Caitlyn Jenner would be selected as the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, it deservedly turned some heads, especially when people learned who Jenner beat out for the award.
Caitlyn Jenner wins Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
And the runner-up is …. pic.twitter.com/DKUdnPT8Gx
— Gerry Callahan (@GerryCallahan) June 1, 2015
Noah Galloway, who lost an arm and a leg in roadside bomb in Iraq and now competes in Crossfit events nationwide, is rumored to have been the selection before Jenner was hand-picked by ESPN’s ratings-driven executives.
Other names mentioned for the award include TNT court-side reporter Craig Sager, who is currently battling leukemia, former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, a cancer survivor, and Lauren Hill, the Division III basketball player with a terminal brain tumor who played in one game in November before passing away in April.
I can think of no more courageous or deserving athlete this year than the late #LaurenHill – should have been Arthur Ashe recipient IMO
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) June 2, 2015
OJ Brigance, Lauren Hill are both worthy candidates for the Arthur Ashe courage award if it was not about ratings, hits and clicks
— Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) June 2, 2015
Lauren Hill played college b-ball while battling a brain tumor and raising $1.5mil for research before she died pic.twitter.com/kC4J5n7O6N
— Clay Strohman (@chipotclay) June 2, 2015
It appears ESPN went for a ratings grab with reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, and that’s a real shame. While she no doubt has courage and is the celebrity face of the under-represented transgender community, her achievements don’t hold a candle to those of Noah Galloway and Lauren Hill.
The ESPYs will have at least one less viewer this year..
Image via Twitter
I’m not calling him Caitlyn, even if there’s a fire!
10 years ago at 7:57 pmNoah Galloway was never being considered for the award. The tweet by Gerry Callahan was satirical, but Galloway and the others mentioned in this article are definitely deserving of this and so many other awards!
10 years ago at 8:26 pmVery well put
10 years ago at 9:09 pmDamn, they made you take off the part of the title that read “and that’s a shame”. The shame is that, like Bruce Jenner, we aren’t embraced for how we feel, rather chastised.
10 years ago at 9:17 pmHey, the Sex Pistols never won anything.
10 years ago at 9:25 pmGender theory is a “soft” science created to appease those who feel victim to the world because they can’t cope with who they are. Bruce Jenner a hero? The exact opposite. It’s cowardly. The man couldn’t cope with what it means to be a man in this world so he chose the easy way out, using his money to become a woman. I’m sick and tired of pussy ass liberals telling me what to think. Get your sex change, idgaf. You have that right, but over my dead body will I accept it as normal.
10 years ago at 9:36 pmFuck liberalism
10 years ago at 9:40 pmI hate to be “that guy” but didn’t you just do the exact same thing to get clicks on this article? I’m not saying what ESPN did is right, but you’re calling them out saying they just used his/her name, but you just used Noah Galloway, and the line “disabled Iraqi vet” to get your audience to click on it.
10 years ago at 9:51 pmYou know the liberals have won when even TFM goes politically correct, referring to what Jenner did as courageous. Smh.
10 years ago at 10:10 pmIf this is an award for athletes, then Catelyn Jenner doesn’t even qualify. She/he considers itself a new person. Bruce Jenner was an Olympic track star, but Catelyn Jenner has never ran a race in its’ life. We should respect Catelyn’s wishes to be considered a new person, right?
10 years ago at 10:50 pm