Prince Harry is being honored at the ESPYs with the Pat Tillman Award for Service for his work with the Invictus Games Foundation, which helps injured, wounded, and sick servicepeople around the world through sports. (Photo by Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
July is just around the corner, which means it’s almost ESPYs time. ESPN’s fan-voted awards show honors current and former athletes who are making active contributions to the world of sports through their playing, coaching and service. And when they air this year on July 11, we’ll be watching three important sports figures receive landmark ESPY awards.
ESPN announced Thursday that Prince Harry, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and former NFL player and ALS activist Steve Gleason will be receiving the most important service awards they can give.
Immediately, one name sticks out. Prince Harry? That redheaded British royal who married a former actress and dramatically left his role in the royal family for a less intense life in the United States? His connection to sports isn’t obvious, but through his past service in the British Armed Forces, he created a charity, the Invictus Games Foundation, to support wounded, injured and sick service people (both active duty and veterans) around the world. The Invictus Games Foundation uses sports to help those people navigate both physical and invisible injuries.
For his creation of and service to the Invictus Games Foundation, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman.
The awards for Staley and Gleason are much more obvious, though no less important.
Staley and her team of Gamecock women just completed a perfect 38-0 season that concluded with them winning the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. She has advocated for diversity and gender…
Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/espns-espy-awards-to-honor-prince-harry-dawn-staley-steve-gleason-with-major-awards-152228544.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-27 15:22:28
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