Michelle Obama presented the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in honor of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver at Wednesday’s 2017 ESPYS.
The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage was created for the very first ESPY Awards in 1993. According to ABC and ESPN, the special honor celebrates “individuals whose contributions transcend sports” and “individuals who embody the spirit of the trophy’s namesake, tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who dedicated his life to human rights advocacy.” The inaugural award was bestowed upon Jimmy Valvano, while other honorees over the years have included Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Pat Summitt, Robin Roberts, Michael Sam and Caitlyn Jenner.
There have been a number of posthumous recipients over the years, including Pat Tillman, who inspired another ESPY honor, the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Shriver, who died in 2009 at age 88, was selected as the 2017 Arthur Ashe Courage Award recipient for her “dedication to using the power of sports to empower individuals with intellectual disabilities to become acknowledged and celebrated members of society.” Shriver is credited with founding the Special Olympics, an outgrowth of Camp Shriver, which she started at her own home for kids with intellectual disabilities.
Shriver’s son Timothy is the current chairman of the Special Olympics, and was at the ESPY Awards to accept the award on behalf of his late mother. “Once a great First Lady, still a great First Lady,” he said upon accepting the trophy from Obama. It was only announced on Monday that Obama would be the one leading the presentation. This marks the former First Lady’s most high-profile TV appearance since leaving office with husband President Barack Obama in January. She has only participated in select events in the months since.
As Gossip Cop reported, Obama taped a surprise message for Chance The Rapper’s Humanitarian Award tribute at last month’s BET Awards. But she made it a point to participate in tonight’s event in person. Her appearance comes amidst ridiculous speculation from RadarOnline about the Obamas having “marriage problems.” Gossip Cop fully expects the webloid to turn Obama’s charitable work tonight into some sort of fake news. Watch video from the ESPYS below.