Checking in from the sports desk somewhere beneath the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState, where Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken insist they have been diligently monitoring every dramatic twist of World Cup action …
Fine. They are not exactly soccer devotees.
In any case, the ESPYs took place tonight. For those who do not keep tabs on ESPN’s annual awards show, the event is the network’s yearly celebration of athletes and sports moments it decides are worthy of recognition, with fan voting playing at least some role in the outcome. How emotionally invested anyone is in the whole production is open to debate, but during MLB All-Star week, when the broader sports calendar tends to slow down, the ceremony gives ESPN something shiny to put on television.
Because this is an ESPN-made spectacle, the awards naturally come with the network’s preferred cultural framing baked in. Take the Best Fighter category, for instance. There is no separate honor for Best Boxer and Best MMA Fighter, and no distinction between men’s and women’s competitors. Everyone gets tossed into the same bucket, as if the budget only allowed for a single trophy.
The WNBA also gets its moment, with a Best Player award of its own. If you are wondering whether Caitlin Clark made the nominee list, the answer is no. So much for the grand celebration of inclusion.
That theme runs throughout the show, where categories that could easily be separated are instead blended together, allowing ESPN to showcase how modern and enlightened it wants viewers to believe it is. Best Tennis Player? Men and women compete under the same label. Best Golfer? Same idea. Best Fighter has already been folded into a one-size-fits-all format. At this point, it is almost surprising the Best NFL Player category did not make room for a cheerleader or two.
Predictably, anything tied to the New York Knicks seemed positioned to collect hardware, whether the case was especially strong or not. Best Championship Performance. Best Play. Best NBA Player. Best Athlete in Men’s Sports. Best Team. Apparently ESPN can still separate men’s and women’s sports when it wants to. Somewhere, the USA men’s Olympic hockey team may have a few questions.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award went to former NBA player Jason Collins, who came out as gay in 2013 and has been widely celebrated for that decision ever since. The choice was framed as a tribute to courage, though some may wonder how it stacks up against the ordeal faced by Iranian women’s soccer players who sought asylum in Australia despite reported threats against their families back home.
