Caitlyn Jenner Will Receive Arthur Ashe Courage Award
Caitlyn Jenner will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s upcoming ESPYs ceremony.
Brian Stelter, the senior media correspondent for CNN, confirmed the news on Twitter, Monday.
ESPN confirms that Caitlyn Jenner will be receiving the @ESPYs Arthur Ashe Courage Award this July. h/t @JimMiller
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 1, 2015
Further confirmation of Caitlyn Jenner being named the recipient of the prestigious award can also be found in the June 2015 issue of Vanity Fair, which features Caitlyn as the cover model and main story.
Introducing Caitlyn Jenner #CallMeCaitlyn http://t.co/H5PZPiwu7Z pic.twitter.com/Za41XjWc1x — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) June 1, 2015
According to Hollywood Life, attending the 2015 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) awards ceremony will also mark the first major public and televised appearance of Caitlyn Jenner.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award (also known as the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage) is one of the many different awards that are presented and accepted at the ESPY award ceremony each year.
The award is named after the late award-winning professional tennis star Arthur Ashe, Jr. Ashe made history by becoming the first black man to join the U.S. Davis Cup team and the only black man to win the singles title at the Australian Open, U.S. Open or Wimbledon.
On this day in 1963 Arthur Ashe became the first African American to make the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team. pic.twitter.com/zn3bGqhhrJ
— emPower magazine (@emPowermagazine) May 14, 2015
Even though it is a sports-related award, there have been several people over the years that have received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award that were not professional athletes – including Nelson Mandela in 2009 and Robin Roberts in 2013.
Last year, former NFL player Michael Sam was presented with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
#Michael Sam’s Emotional Acceptance Speech For The Arthur… – http://t.co/UD7x9R0JlI – #Courage #Happen pic.twitter.com/tDmISSaTEM
— Pecand (@PecandOnline) August 22, 2014
The 25-year-old Montreal Alouettes defensive end made headlines with his acceptance speech in which he reflected on the previous year as well as what he learned from it.
“This year I have a lot of experience being part of something a lot bigger than myself. At times I’ve felt like I’ve been living in a massive storm, and I know the storm will end. I’m here tonight to tell you that the lessons I learned about love, respect, and being true to yourself will never leave me.”
From the moment Bruce Jenner confirmed his transformation to a woman during his televised interview with Diane Sawyer, many people have praised his courage and boldness – especially now that Caitlyn Jenner has been officially introduced to the world.
Chances are that the former Olympian will make headlines yet again during the highly-anticipated acceptance speech at the EPSY award ceremony, which is currently scheduled for July 15.
[Image Credit: TMZ]
