WATCH ABOVE: Caitlyn Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs on Wednesday night while urging acceptance for others who are transgender.
Caitlyn Jenner made one of her first major public appearance since coming out as transgender, picking up the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at Wednesday night’s ESPYs.
Unfortunately, there were detractors (that’s putting it nicely) who felt Jenner was not deserving of the honour and who don’t seem to recognize why sports network ESPN created the award.
READ MORE: Emotional Caitlyn Jenner accepts Arthur Ashe Courage Award at ESPYs
Ashe — the first and so far only African-American male tennis player to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open or Australian Open — died of AIDS-related pneumoniain 1993.
ESPN created the award to honour and promote his legacy and recognize those “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.
“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,” ESPN says on its website.
READ MORE: Transgender community wants more human rights protection
In the past three years, ESPN has presented the award to prominent lesbian, gay, transgender individuals — during a time when LGBTQ rights and equality have been at the forefront.
A gold medal winner at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Jenner was honoured for her bravery in revealing she identifies as a woman and serving as role model for people struggling with their gender identity.
Last year’s recipient was Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL and now a member of the Montreal Alouette’s CFL team.
READ MORE: Michael Sam signing with CFL historic moment, says Brian Burke
Good Morning America anchor and former ESPN anchor Robin Roberts took home the recognition in 2013, for “possessing strength in the face of adversity” in her public battles with breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Roberts revealed she was in a long-term relationship with girlfriend Amber Laign after recovering from a bone marrow transplant.
Whether or not Jenner intended to answer her critics in her accepting the award, she explained exactly why the attention focused on her is so vital to the trans community.
She gave an emotional acceptance speech about what it’s like to cope with gender identity on one’s own and about how transgender youth are often bullied and tormented.
“They’re getting beaten up, they’re getting murdered and they’re committing suicide,” she said.
She got a standing ovation from the crowd at the end of her 10-minute speech and was lauded by supporters, including members of the sports, LGBTQ and entertainment communities. But her message was lost on some.
Peter Berg, creator of the football-themed television show Friday Night Lights and director of the movie it was based on, posted a widely shared image on Instagram (originally shared by a Facebook group called Mainstream Media Boycott) criticizing the attention on Jenner and ESPN awarding her the Arthur Ashe Courage award.
https://instagram.com/p/5LqJtGPakd/?taken-by=pberg44
Berg wasn’t alone. Cleveland Browns offensive lineman tweeted he was turning off the ESPYs.
And, Philadelphia sports radio host Howard Eskin apologized Thursday for what he called “insensitive” tweets about Jenner, labelling her a “freak” and referring to the 65-year-old by her former name, Bruce.
READ MORE: How to refer to Caitlyn Jenner
Eskin even accused Jenner of going through her transition to get money, in response to another tweet saying his comments are exactly why “so many transgender teens commit suicide.”
Here’s Eskin’s apology:
ESPN NFL Nation writer Kevin Seifert shared his view in a tweet during the ESPYs broadcast — countering the social media backlash to Jenner.
Comments