U.S. women's hockey team took home the top team award at the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards ESPN IMAGES
Warriors F Kevin Durant won the top athlete award and the U.S. women's hockey team took home the top team award at the 4th annual ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards last night in L.A. The WWE won the League Humanitarian Leadership Award and Uniqlo won the Corporate Community Impact Award. ESPN's Hannah Storm emceed the event that was sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb. The event also honored Basketball HOFer David Robinson and the U.S. Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program with the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award. Net proceeds from the event were donated to the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund, and ESPN donated $1M collectively to charities of the nominees and winners. The Humanitarian Awards were held the night before tonight's ESPYs, and like the celebrity golf tournament and celebrity auction associated with the annual award show with proceeds going to charity, it is a way for the company to give back, said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro. He said, "When I think about the ESPYs, I don't just think about the Wednesday night event. The Humanitarian Awards are part of it, the golf tournament, the auction, all are a part of one thing in my mind, which is contributing back to society and partnering with leagues, partnering with athletes, and giving them a platform to tell the stories that really need to be told." Philanthropy, social responsibility and good citizenship are important to the Walt Disney Co. and to ESPN, Pitaro said, adding that ESPN wants to be the platform where athletes tell the stories of what they are doing off the field and the court. "I want ESPN to be the place, not just where those stories are told, but the actions are celebrated," he said. ESPN will air the highlights of the Humanitarian Awards on July 24 at 7:00pm ET.
