“Courage” is defined as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.” This past Wednesday night the ESPYs aired on ABC and the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage was presented for the 23rd time. Previous winners have, for the most part, come from the world of sports like Jim Valvano, Muhammad Ali, announcer Robin Roberts, etc. There have been other winners, such as Nelson Mandela, who are not sports-related figures. The winner, according to the award, should always “transcend sports”.
The honor is named for Arthur Ashe because he was a great tennis player (winning three Grand Slam events, including being the first African-American to win at Wimbledon) as well as the first black player selected to the Davis Cup team. Arthur Ashe contracted HIV from a blood transfusion during his heart bypass surgery and spent the rest of his life educating others about the illness and fighting to defeat AIDS. He died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993. Truly, his was a life that symbolized “courage”.
This year’s winner was Caitlyn Jenner, who you know, unless you have absolutely NO access to anything considered current events and, therefore, probably cannot access this blog anyway, transitioned from being a man to a woman. Bruce Jenner was a world-class Olympic athlete and, as Caitlyn Jenner, has become the spokesperson for those who feel they are trapped in their bodies. It certainly took courage for Jenner to not only accept herself for who she is, but also to get “out front” with that decision. Hopefully, Jenner’s greater acceptance by the general public will help those who are currently battling with gender identification. I just have a little trouble with the millions of dollars she will make because of it. She purportedly will receive $5 million for her reality series, “I Am Cait”. She also continues the tradition of the Kardashians’ exploitation of their lifestyle for the mighty dollar.
My vote, if I had one, would have gone to Lauren Hill. She played basketball at Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio. Lauren suffered from terminal brain cancer and died April 10, 2015. She did not choose to make her battle public, but it became news when the NCAA allowed Mount St. Joseph to move up the starting date of their season by two weeks so Hill would get a chance to play prior to her death. The away game was moved to a home game so she would not have to travel and then moved to a 10,000-seat arena to accommodate the crowd. She played in four games, made five layups, and served as an assistant coach. She also helped to raise over $1.5 million for pediatric cancer research.
The only limelight she sought was to help others and that light now shines on the “Layup 4 Lauren” foundation. She did posthumously receive the “Best Moment” award on the ESPYs Wednesday night. Her parents accepted for her. When her parents were asked if she would have thought she should have won the Ashe Award, they responded that that thought would have never entered her mind so she would not have commented at all.
Simply put, Lauren Hill should have won the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage on Wednesday night. She and Arthur had much in common.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- Golf’s majors are beginning to look like the “Survivor” reality show. After the desert-like conditions of Chambers Bay in Washington State for the US Open, the golfers this past weekend have been battered by the hurricane-like conditions at the British Open. Charles Darwin and his “survival of the fittest” mentality would have made him a perfect analyst for ESPN.
- It’s tough on the bicycling front these days, too. Tour de France leader Chris Froome complained that this past Saturday a spectator threw a cup of urine at him and shouted “doper”. It should be noted that Froome has never failed a drug test.
- The “deflategate” ball that was caught by LeGarrette Blount for a touchdown in the AFC Championship was sold at auction for $43,740. Does every rule infraction have to be eventually rewarded?
- Local product and Nazareth High school graduate Sage Karam finished third this past Saturday at the Iowa Corn 300 Indy Car series. He did anger sixth-place finisher Ed Carpenter, however, who said Karam has no respect for the other drivers and “has no clue”. Karam responded he is “going for the win”. The former Nazareth wrestler always went for the win.
- Who is Sarah Thomas? She will be the NFL’s first and only female official this season. Fans may want to tone down the bad-call expletives.
