Caitlyn Jenner, until recently a man, has beaten out Lauren Hill, a young woman athlete who tragically died of brain cancer, for the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to be presented at next month’s ESPY honors put on by ESPN.
Jenner, 65, was a long-ago Olympic gold-medal decathalon winner and the reality TV dad named Bruce on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Jenner recently revealed she is now a woman and on Monday graced the cover of Vanity Affair magazine.
The outcry over ESPN's decision to honor Jenner isn't just because of the slight to the basketball playing Hill who captured the nation's heart,
according to Fox News, but also for passing over Iraq war veteran Noah Galloway who lost most of an arm and a leg in combat.
Hill battled brain cancer while still participating on her university’s basketball team. The 19-year-old lost her fight April 10. Galloway competes in extreme sports and almost won the latest season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Although rumors spread on Twitter that Galloway was the ESPY runner-up,
according to Sporting News, an ESPN representative dismissed the speculation.
“Many people are discussed every year,” ESPN told FOX411. “There is no such thing as a runner-up.”
An ESPN statement said Jenner was chosen “to help move forward a constructive dialogue about progress and acceptance.”
Hill’s former basketball coach, Dan Benjamin, told Fox that while he wants his late player to receive the honor, the mission she started is far greater.
“In Lauren’s words, if we can get closer to solving cancer, that would be the greatest award,” said Benjamin. “We’re biased here. We want to focus on Lauren’s mission to raise money and find a cure for DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) through the charity she supported TheCureStartsNow.org.”
This week alone The Cure Starts Now foundation has received $4.5 million.
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