Steve Gleason to Receive The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage

During The 2024 ESPYS, hosted by Serena Williams, ESPN will honor athletes and sports leaders for their courage, perseverance and service with three special accolades. Steve Gleason will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, Dawn Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service. The 2024 ESPYS will air live on Thursday July 11 at 8 p.m. ET / PT on ABC.

Former NFL safety Steve Gleason will be honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his heroic fight against ALS. The award is given to a deserving member of the sports world who has made a difference beyond the field of play by fighting for what they believe in, impacting people worldwide. After being diagnosed with ALS in 2011, Gleason resolved to face the incurable disease head on. He established his nonprofit, Team Gleason, to empower people with ALS to live purposeful lives by providing broad-reaching programming and support services to help others thrive and ultimately bring an end to the disease. After years of advocacy, Team Gleason successfully lobbied for “The Steve Gleason Act,” which ensures the availability of life sustaining communication devices in the U.S. Since then, Gleason has inspired technology companies like Microsoft to continue developing technology for ALS patients worldwide. Prior to his diagnosis, Gleason enjoyed a successful career in the NFL. During his eight years with the New Orleans Saints, he shocked fans with his astonishing punt block in the Louisiana Superdome’s first game back after Hurricane Katrina, which became a symbol of recovery in the city. Past recipients of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage include the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse survivors (2018), Bill Russell (2019), Kevin Love (2020), Maya Moore (2021), Vitali Klitschko (2022) and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (2023).

To read more of ESPN’s press release, visit their website link down below.