It’s the annual ESPY awards honouring the best in sports over the past year with comedian Shane Gillen serving as host.
Prior to the live broadcast Noah Elliott won the award for Best Athlete with a Disability.
The first award of the night was for the Best Championship Performance and went to Gold Medal winning gymnast Simone Biles. She was the only female nominee in the category.
The award for the Best Play of the Year went to Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award went to tennis player Sloane Stevens. Her foundation seeks to make the life of children better through tennis. In her video clip she noted that what she has done off the court is much bigger than what she has done on the court.
The award for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year went to rugby player Ilona Maher.
Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee pay tribute to Lee Corso who is retiring next month at the age of 90. He began as a player at Florida State University with Burt Reynolds as a roommate and went on to be a coach and is ending a 38 year career as a broadcaster. He said his goal was to bring a smile to everyone’s face…and he hopes that he has done that. The USC Trojan band came out to perform waving Lee Corso big Fatheads. And Lee donned a helmet.
Russell Wilson presented the recipient of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance to Katie Schumacher-Cawley. She said that she is beyond humbled; adding that cancer has changed her life but didn’t take it. She is the first female to win a national championship in volleyball coaching the Penn State Nittly Lions. She called the medical personnel who take care of them true heroes.
The Capital One Cup honours the best of college sports to a university. The 2025 winner is the University of North Carolina women and the Ohio State University men. Each school will receive $250,000 for their scholarship funds.
Alex Morgan and Diana Taurasi were named the ISPY’s Icon Award winners.
The award for Best Women’s Sports Athlete of the Year went to gymnast Simone Biles.
The Pat Tillman Award for Service Award went to First Responder Los Angeles Fire Fighters David Walters and Erin Reagan. David and Erin noted that the award was not just for them but for all the fire fighters who fought the wildfires earlier this year.
The ESPY’s honours the Gatorade high school players of the year: Jane Hedengren and Cameron Boozer.
The award for Comeback Athlete of the Year went to gymnast Suni Lee.
Billie Jean King and Damar Hamlin presented the BJK Youth Leadership Award.
The In Memoriam segment paid tribute to those athletes who have passed on over the past year.
The ESPY’s pay tribute to Oscar Robinson who did more for basketball than run up and down the court – he is the father of free agency in basketball and present him with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. He was the first man of colour to be the president of a player’s association.
The award for Best Athlete in Men’s Sports went to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. He said to achieve your dreams, it takes a village.
The award for Best Record Breaking Performance went to hockey player Alexander Ovechkin who broke Wayne Gretsky’s points record.
The biggest award of the night was for the Best Team and went to the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles.