The 2020 ESPY awards took place on Sunday, and a chilling message from Seattle sports stars Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Russell Wilson was not the only time a Seahawks player brought people to their feet during the event.
Shaquem Griffin surprised the recipient of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, Taquarius Wair, with a video chat “presenting” him with the award.
Seahawks LB Shaquem Griffin surprised Taquarius Wair with a special message and this year's Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. #ESPYS
(đź“Ť @Cisco) pic.twitter.com/y1MDDisyVs
— ESPYS (@ESPYS) June 22, 2020
Wair suffered third-degree burns on over 55% of his body during a house fire when he was just four years old. He was given a 20% chance of survival, but after spending one month in a coma and losing one of his hands, he fought his way back and is now a running back at Mesabi Range College in Minnesota.
“On behalf of the ESPYs, they brought me here, and I couldn’t ask for a better spot to be in to be able to talk to you,” Griffin said. “Jimmy V talked about perseverance and overcoming all obstacles, [someone] who shows nothing but grind, nothing but perseverance and attitude and grit, and I want to let you know that you’re that guy. And I’m proud of you, bro.”
Griffin, who himself lost his hand at age four thanks to amniotic band syndrome, became the first player with just one hand to make it to the NFL in 2018 after the Seahawks selected him in the fifth round of the draft, reuniting him with his twin brother Shaquill, now a Pro Bowl cornerback.
The Jimmy V Award is presented each year to a “deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination”. It is named after Jim Valvano, the former head coach of the North Carolina State men’s basketball team who gave a very inspiring speech at the ESPY Awards in 1993, and died from adenocarcinoma just two months later.
“This is humbling for me right now,” Wair said. “I’ve been through a lot. It’s just in my nature not to give up. My family won’t let me give up. They’ve been through every part of my life with me. It’s just another part of my life they get to enjoy with me – and I get to enjoy with them.”