The U.S. women’s national team are sure to win an award this summer, no matter how the World Cup goes.
ESPN announced Wednesday that the USWNT will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage during the 2023 ESPYs, which will take place July 12 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
The USWNT has won the award for what the sports network called “their resilient fight for equal pay off the field” in a press release announcing the news.
“The USWNT players are longtime advocates of equality, and in March 2019, they began a legal battle with U.S. Soccer for equal pay with the U.S Men’s National Soccer Team. In 2022, the team reached a historic agreement that officially split men’s and women’s pay 50/50 and ultimately set a new global standard in sports and had a ripple effect outside of the sports world,” said ESPN’s announcement.
.@USWNT to receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage pic.twitter.com/yai9XvbuM9
— ESPN (@espn) June 28, 2023
“Since then, the USWNT has continued to leverage their platform to raise awareness around pay inequity and social injustices in the United States. Past recipients of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage include Muhammad Ali (1997), Billie Jean King (1999), former president Nelson Mandela (2009), Caitlyn Jenner (2015), Bill Russell (2019), and Vitali Klitschko (2022).”
The USWNT will be one of three parties to win a special ESPY at this year’s ceremony. Chicago White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks, who returned to playing just six months after a non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
Rounding out the group will be the training staff of the Buffalo Bills, who will be awarded the Pat Tillman Award for Service for providing potentially life-saving medical care to Bills safety Damar Hamlin last year.
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