The 2020 ESPY Awards aired on Father Day’s, and although he didn’t win any awards, Thunder point guard and NBA Players Union President Chris Paul was obviously tuned in.
The show, which was created to honor the most outstanding individual and team athletic achievements during the previous calendar year carried a slightly different theme this year. Instead of honoring athletic performance, the 2020 ESPY Awards honored extraordinary acts of activism and humanitarian efforts.
As American sports continue to plan their returns over the next few weeks, professional athletes have continued to be outspoken in their advocacy for reform and against police brutality impacting the Black community.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love was among those who won an ESPY Award on Sunday, as the former UCLA Bruin took home the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The Award, named after tennis star Arthur Ashe, is presented to an athlete that makes societal contributions that transcend sports.
Love has been credited for helping to destigmatize mental health issues among pro athletes. Many of his peers followed his example after Love admitted that he struggled with depression in an essay he penned for The Players’ Tribune.
In Everyone Is Going Through Something, Love opened up and told his story, bravely revealing to the world that he suffered from panic attacks, depression and anxiety. He helped to spark an important conversation within the NBA and, on Sunday, was honored for it.
Paul noticed.
“Well deserved @kevinlove,” Paul tweeted to Love in response to the video ESPN tweeted of Love’s acceptance speech.
Well deserved @kevinlove 🙌🏾 https://t.co/F9VbrpYsyb
— Chris Paul (@CP3) June 22, 2020
Traditionally, the ESPY Awards have been held in mid-July, but with there being a sports hiatus and some athletes becoming more outspoken in fighting for causes in which they believe, the awards came a bit early this year.
Kevin Love certainly didn’t mind.