ESPY Awards

On March 4, 1993, Jim Valvano was awarded the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first ESPY Awards. Jim Valvano, nicknamed Jimmy V, was a college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Jim had an excellent coaching career, coaching for many teams, but most prominently at North Carolina State University. Despite being weakened from his fight against cancer, Jimmy V delivered an inspiring and energetic speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards with a goal to encourage the audience to donate to cancer research. Valvano coached 10 seasons at North Carolina State, leading them to the national championship in 1983. After resigning as a coach in 1990, he was hired as an analyst for ABC and ESPN later that year (Jim). Jim was diagnosed…

Imagine being a professional college athlete, investing multiple hours in athletics and academics. Countless hours are spent training to become the best of the best to compete against the best schools. Athletes experience a toll on their bodies not only physically, but mentally as well; the level of training and commitment to the sport is easily comparable to what a professional athlete experiences. However, questions are raised as to whether college athletes should be paid to play. Oftentimes,…

One of the hottest topics in college Athletics for the past decade is whether or not college athletes should get paid. Big Schools are making an absolute fortune on these highly gifted kids through their exceptional play and social media charisma. Whether or not they should get paid is a bit of a stretch but I think with all of the money the schools are making off of these athletes I think they can manage giving the players a few dollars. Players should be paid for three reasons. Players miss so…

A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence for your accomplishments. Receiving a trophy has been one of the most special and humbling feelings I have ever experienced in my life. It symbolizes my hard work, dedication, and has been a beneficial memory tool. Trophies can have different meanings for certain people, but with me a trophy symbolizes my long journey to get where I am today. Each trophy can tell its own story, and that is something so unique…

back to second grade. You may have participated in the spelling bee, or a little league team, or something having to do with competition. Do you remember everyone getting awards? Maybe. Now, do you still have that award? Probably not, because the award was pointless, which is why you more than likely can't remember what you received the award for. Now think back again, when you received this award, did you envy the first place winner? No, you were happy that you all got the same trophy. Yet…

Are people giving kids too much trophies. Lately kids are giving participation trophies for everything. Adults are giving too much trophies because It teaches that losing is bad. There's no participation trophies in the real world. It can also develop narcissistic traits. People are giving to many trophies to children. There now participation trophies for everything, only mildly ridiculous. I understand why they do it, giving them self confidence. Doing it in moderation is fine, but doing too…

Participation Trophies The two differences that are driving these authors apart are their values and priorities. They both speak of the same argument of whether or not children should receive participation trophies. I agree with Lisa Heffernan’s argument because of the different effects a participation trophy can have on children. Can participation trophies make it hard for children to differentiate the accomplishments that deserve positive reinforcements or can the trophies teach a lesson about…

When kids reach a certain age to play sports or any type of competitive activity, they earn trophies, medals, and ribbons. But kids that have amazing top performances are not acknowledged anymore because many programs have begun awarding all athletes even though some of those athletes aren’t top performers. Giving out trophies, athletes good or bad, it can carry out wrong representations of hard work. In this reflection, I will discussing whether or not everyone should be awarded with a trophy.…

Today participation awards are common place. Everyone knows what they are but not many people know the effects these awards may have on youth athletes. These awards promote a warped sense of self importance. These awards are also a waste of money that could be put towards more important things, such as scholarship programs and training for coaches. If kids works hard and get an award they will have earned it and know they have earned it, and that will mean more than any participation award. …

Participation trophies have mounted to become a notably debated topic because many wonder if participation trophies are not beneficial to the kids that receive them, or merely just taking up space in children’s rooms. Author Ashley Merryman elaborated on these opinions in a bold declaration against participation awards. The opposing point of view suggests that participation trophies do more good than bad in a competitive society. Contributing their word to the conversation, Eric Priceman and…