Last night, the ESPYs packed quite a punch for a sports award show, highlighting all of the good and bad events that have happened over the past year in sports. It seemed no one was safe as ESPY host Joel McHale targeted almost everyone in his opening monologue. In a weird way, it’s probably a good thing to be a target because that means you’re at least somewhat relevant. And of all the award shows that I’ve watched, this was definitely one of the better opening monologues that I’ve seen. With lots of hilarious moments happening throughout the night, one of my favorites was when Alex Rodriguez issued an apology using his interpreter Ken Jeong.
On a more serious note, and one that brought tears to the eyes of many, Devon Still accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award on behalf of his 5-year-old daughter Leah. As you may remember, Leah was diagnosed with cancer last year, although her cancer is currently in remission, her doctors deemed her unfit to travel as her immune system is still recovering. If you feel like crying today, check out Devon’s speech here. Leah is currently going under daily radiation treatments and just looking at her through all the pictures Devon has posted, you can’t help but feel your heart break when you look at her smile. They use the expression “beat up cancer” and we are all hoping she is going to beat it up for good.
Another moment that truly grabbed the attention of everyone in the room was the appearance of Caitlyn Jenner. She accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in what is her first public appearance since announcing she is transgender. In a powerful and personal speech, Caitlyn touched on the importance of being aware of transgender kids and ultimately told them, it’s okay. Check out her moving speech here.
Overall, I’d say the ESPYs were a hit; if you missed them and want to see a list of all the award winners, you can find that here. The only thing that doesn’t make sense to me, and well a lot of people, is the award for Best Championship Performance. And the winner is … LeBron James?!
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Tweet me: @AGinBuffalo
