ESPN is still planning to stage an ESPY Awards ceremony in June. Given the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the world’s focus, the show will have a very different look this year.
The biggest change is that the awards handed out will have less to do with on-field or on-court performance and more to do with the sports world’s response to the disease and the way teams and players are helping their communities.
The Sports Humanitarian Awards will be handed out at the event as well. They include the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award presented by Anthem Foundation and the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award presented by Dove Men+Care. Recipients have not yet been announced.
The event will have a decidedly Northwest feel to them this year. Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm will co-host the event alongside the most famous women’s soccer player in the world Meagan Rapinoe, who plays for the WUSA club OL Reign, which is based in Tacoma, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
“The stories we see at The ESPYS each year serve as a reminder of the hope that sports can inspire,” Megan Rapinoe said in a press release. “I’m looking forward to hosting the show alongside Sue and Russell, and bringing that much needed hope to audiences this year.”
Further details regarding the 2020 ESPYs are yet to be announced. The event will again also serve to raise money and awareness for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which former college basketball coach Jim Valvano announced at the first ESPY ceremony in 1993. In the last 27 years, ESPN has raised over $116 million for the Foundation.
