Michael Sam wins Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at ESPYs
The sports world descended upon Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater yesterday for the annual ESPYs, or Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards. Among the many attendees were professional tennis player Maria Sharapova, basketball star Kevin Durant, and Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete in the NFL and this year’s recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.
Sam publicly announced he was gay in February of this year and garnered much public support from such figures as Robin Roberts and Barack Obama. He went on to be drafted by the St. Louis Rams as a defensive lineman in the seventh round.
His acceptance speech not only touched the hearts of those in the audience, but also of viewers at home.
“The late great Arthur Ashe wasn’t just courageous- he was brilliant too.” Sam said last night. “He put all the wisdom in the world into three great sentences: Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Those are words to live by, whether you’re black or white, young or old, straight or gay.”
Take a watch and let us know what you think!
Sam publicly announced he was gay in February of this year and garnered much public support from such figures as Robin Roberts and Barack Obama. He went on to be drafted by the St. Louis Rams as a defensive lineman in the seventh round.
His acceptance speech not only touched the hearts of those in the audience, but also of viewers at home.
“The late great Arthur Ashe wasn’t just courageous- he was brilliant too.” Sam said last night. “He put all the wisdom in the world into three great sentences: Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Those are words to live by, whether you’re black or white, young or old, straight or gay.”
Take a watch and let us know what you think!
