Michelle Obama to Present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver at ‘The 25th ESPYS’

Michelle Obama to Present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver at ‘The 25th ESPYS’

MICHELLE OBAMA TO PRESENT THE ARTHUR ASHE COURAGE AWARD FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS FOUNDER EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER AT ‘THE 25 ^TH ESPYS,’JULY 12 ON ABC

ESPN

will posthumously honor Eunice Kennedy Shriver
with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at “The 25^th ESPYS Presented
by Capital One.” The company today announced that former First Lady
Michelle Obama will present the award to Timothy Shriver, who is the
chairman of Special Olympics and will accept the award on his mother’s
behalf.

“Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a passionate champion for those with
developmental challenges, empowering them to fulfill their highest
potential,” said Mrs. Obama. “Her work to promote inclusion and acceptance
transformed the lives of countless young athletes and inspired us all. I am
incredibly honored to present this award to her son to celebrate her life’s
work.”

Eunice Kennedy Shriver is being honored with the award for her dedication
to using the power of sports to empower individuals with intellectual
disabilities to become acknowledged and celebrated members of society.
Shriver was a resolute champion for the rights of people with intellectual
disabilities and her legacy lives on through Special Olympics, the global
movement she founded in 1968.

Presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports, the
award recognizes those individuals who embody the spirit of the trophy’s
namesake, tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who dedicated his life to human rights
advocacy. The 25^th ESPYS, hosted by five-time NFL MVP and
two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, will air live on Wednesday, July 12, at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is
sponsored by Cadillac. Tickets are available for public purchase at
AXS.com. For additional ESPYS news and information, please follow the
official Twitter handle: @ESPYS.

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The Arthur Ashe Courage Award
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented each year to individuals whose
contributions transcend sports. Past honorees include: Jim Valvano (1993);
Steve Palermo (1994); Howard Cosell (1995); Loretta Claiborne (1996);
Muhammad Ali (1997); Dean Smith (1998); Billie Jean King (1999); Dave
Sanders (2000); Olympian Cathy Freeman (2001); Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham,
Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick, four passengers who lost their lives
September 11 on United Flight 93 (2002); Pat and Kevin Tillman (2003);
Liberian-born soccer legend George Weah (2004); disabled athletes Emmanuel
Ofosu Yeboah and Jim MacLaren (2005); Afghan female athletes (2006); and
Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen for their work with PeacePlayers (2007);
U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos (2008); former president Nelson
Mandela (2009); the Thomas family of Parkersburg, IA (2010); boxer Dewey
Bozella (2011); women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt (2012); Robin Roberts
(2013), Michael Sam (2014), Caitlyn Jenner (2015), Zaevion Dobson (2016).