The inaugural Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards, presented by ESPN and PlayStation®, will celebrate and honor athletes, teams, nonprofits and members of the sports industry for using sport to serve communities and make a positive impact on society, it was announced by John Skipper, President, ESPN. The event, which will take place Tuesday, July 14 at the Conga Room at L.A. Live, will be the first of its kind, bringing together the leagues and sporting community to pay tribute to the collective good of sports. Multiple sports-related leagues and/or governing bodies - including MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, USOC, USTA, WNBA, WWE and the Women's Sports Foundation - have nominated athletes, teams and community members that are using the power of sports to transform lives and uplift communities.
During the event, which will be hosted by Laila Ali, winners will be announced from among the finalists for two major award categories - Sports Humanitarian of the Year and Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year. Additionally, the event will celebrate four inaugural "Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award" (ESPN + inspire) winners, recognized for taking risks and using innovation to help the disadvantaged.