The inaugural Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards will be presented tonight at the Conga Room at L.A. Live.
The awards honor athletes, teams, nonprofit organizations and members of the sports industry for using sport to serve communities and make a positive impact on society.
The nominees for the Sports Humanitarian of the Year are San Francisco 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin; Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings; professional wrestler John Cena; and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The nominees for the Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year are the Chicago Bulls; the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer; San Francisco 49ers; and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Both the winner of the Sports Humanitarian of the Year and Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year will receive a $75,000 grant from ESPN’s Corporate Citizenship Department to advance the impact of the charity related to the award-winning humanitarian efforts. The other finalists will each receive a $25,000 grant.
The ceremony will also celebrate the four inaugural winners of the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award, who were recognized for taking risks and using innovation to help the disadvantaged.
The winners are the “Like a Girl” campaign; Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and his wife Sue; Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll; and the You Can Play project.
The award is named for the longtime “SportsCenter” anchor who died of cancer in January at the age of 49.
Highlights of the ceremony will be featured during a 30-minute special on ESPN to air July 23.
