When I heard that Caitlyn Jenner was being honored as this year’s Arthur Ashe award winner at the ESPY’s I didn’t think much of it. However, I was listening to Bob Costas on the Dan Patrick Show and he made the point that the ESPY’s are a television show and featuring Caitlyn Jenner will garner more ratings. That got me to thinking, should ESPN be giving this prestigious award to Jenner? It is a simple question with a very complicated answer. The short answer in my opinion is no. But allow me to explain.
Those of you who disagree I am sure are looking at the award’s title and it includes the word courageous. You’re saying, “what Caitlyn did and is doing is courageous and she deserves the award.” However, those are two comments. Caitlyn may be exhibiting courage; however, that does not necessarily mean she deserves the award.
First, let us look at the definition of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award as it appears on the ESPN website:
The Ashe Award is one of the most prestigious in sports. Recipients reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe, possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost. The award is inspired by the life that Ashe lived, using his fame and stature to advocate for human rights, although, at the time, those positions may have been unpopular and were often controversial. From speaking out against apartheid in South Africa to revealing to the world his struggle with AIDS, Ashe never backed away from a difficult issue, even though doing so would have been easier. Winners of the Ashe Award strive to carry on Ashe’s legacy in their own lives – – inspired by those who do so each day.
That’s a mouthful but it breaks down quite easily into three categories:
- Possessing Strength in the Face of Adversity
- Courage in the Face of Peril
- Willingness to Stand Up for Their Beliefs No Matter What the Cost
Caitlyn Jenner does not quite fit the bill. She is not facing peril and the courage she is displaying is being shown to the world in the form of a reality show. I was at the gym and the person in there was watching the Kardashian show. It was the episode where Bruce Jenner tells the Kardashians about his decision. Something about reality shows made the whole thing feel contrived and that’s because so many of those shows are. That’s not to say that Jenner is doing this for publicity, but Caitlyn Jenner is definitely using her decision to garner publicity.
I look at the names of the people who have won the Ashe Award in the past, people like Nelson Mandela, Robin Roberts, and the inaugural winner, Jim Valvano. The people who won the award exhibited a selflessness that defined their journeys and also harkened back to that of Arthur Ashe.
Caitlyn Jenner is exhibiting courage and she is doing a ton for members of the transgender community. Members of the transgender community are much more likely to attempt suicide than others in society, especially individuals under 20 years old. What Caitlyn Jenner is doing as a role model and bringing the issue of transgender identity out into the open will undoubtedly save lives. However, again, what Caitlyn Jenner is doing is not necessarily selfless. By the very nature of it, her change is for herself. She couldn’t live a lie and she is making this change so she can be true to herself. Additionally, most members of the transgender community cannot afford the costs to make the physical change that Caitlyn has undergone. Not only that, but, as mentioned earlier, Jenner stands to make a ton of money in the process.
The person whom I would have given the award to, posthumously unfortunately, is Lauren Hill. Lauren was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at the age of 18. Rather than succumb, she decided that she wanted to find a cure and bring as much attention as possible so that money could be raised for cancer research. She decided to live her dream of playing college basketball and can best be remembered by this quote of hers:
“And even though I’m probably not going to be around to see it, it’s going to help a lot of people. And that’s why we need to keep staying with this and not end it with this game, and keep supporting research.”
If that doesn’t make you cry or at the very least give you the chills, I suggest you see your doctor and get yourself checked for the presence of a soul.
When I think of the Ashe Award, the first person I think of after Mr. Ashe is Jimmy V. I think of his “don’t give up, don’t ever give up” speech. And the person who I think embodies the spirit that Jimmy V approached life with is Lauren Hill. She lived her dreams and when she found out she didn’t have much time left on her clock, she decided to do everything she could to help those whom she would never meet by raising money for cancer research, just as Jimmy V did.
It really is a shame that Lauren Hill is not the recipient of the award posthumously. Last year it was Michael Sam. Now it is Caitlyn Jenner. Both displayed courage but neither faced near the amount of adversity that Lauren Hill did in her short life. Lauren Hill didn’t have a reality show. She didn’t make a ton of money for herself. All she did was serve as an inspiration to everybody both in life and in death. She will live on through her efforts toward cancer research. I just wish she also lived on as an Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner.