Jim Valvano can be considered by many one of the most remembered players and coaches of all time and some may even say he was the best. Jim Valvano, Jimmy V for short, received the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first ever the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, also known as the ESPY Awards. He delivered a speech that will forever be remembered. On March 4, 1993 Valvano’s acceptance speech at the ESPY awards greatly impacted the world and will never be forgotten even though he died a little over month later. Jimmy V has left a lasting impression on the sports world that will forever be an encouragement to those battling cancer but also to those living life day to day. Jim Valvano was and still is a widely recognized …show more content…
This award has been an outlet for male athletes to “break down the locker room walls and cry a little, or love a little, or show a sensitive side” (Collins, para. 14). Valvano learned his bone cancer was terminal and in response announced that ESPN was creating the V Foundation to help fund cancer research. The emotional speech he gave during the 1993 ESPYs was legendary and was the ground work for the V Foundation to come (Hill, para. 2). The V foundation is a foundation dedicated to cancer research whose end goal is to find a cure. It’s motto? Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. The formation of the V Foundation arose out of the first ESPY speech by Valvano, and, while some consider the ESPYs an excuse to dress up and receive an award, it is much more than that. It [ESPYs] is one of the biggest TV fundraisers for the V foundation where “you have athletes waging one of the most important contests of all: the fight against cancer” (Finder, para. 9). Years later, his speech is still played every summer and continues to motivate those battling cancer. Jimmy’s brother, Bob Valvano, once said “we were afraid the memory would fade into the background and the foundation would lose stream. But it has been the opposite. The ESPYs have grown each year” which shows the lasting legacy Jimmy V has left behind (Finder, para. 19). In 2004 ESPN called for “Show Your Spirit Day” in which the fans wear their favorite team shirts and donate at least $5 to the V Foundation. This was done to honor Valvano and celebrate his life in a positive way, by giving back to the cancer research community (Hill, para. 3). George Bodenheimer, President of ESPN, Inc., was a huge advocate of the V Foundation and even raised the expectations of ESPNs efforts supporting the V Foundation for Cancer Research which was founded by ESPN in
Wayne Gretzky was a leader, and although his character as a person cannot be measured by mere statistics, he sure has some outstanding ones. However, this definitely was not the last award Gretzky would receive.
David Hicks was a 34 year old black male. He was on death row in Texas from December of 1987 to April of 1988, sentenced to die by lethal injection for rape and murder, on April 25th 1988, of his 87-year-old grandmother, Ms. Ocolor Heggar. David was only a suspect because he was near her house at the time of the crime. There was no indication that he had been inside¡Xexcept, for DNA evidence. The DNA test determined that similarities between sections of DNA removed from David¡¦s blood and DNA recovered from semen in Ms. Heggar¡¦s house would occur only one time in a total of 96 million people.
In 1893, Simon Pokagon spoke at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition. He was a prominent tribal leader who was known for this speech. So much so, it was printed and turned into an informative pamphlet. The speech encompassed American history and it’s push Westward, detailing the destruction of the Native lands and culture forever. He begins by telling the crowd about how he cannot celebrate with them in this great big new city, because it reminds him of all that was lost. Pokagon states, “where stands this “Queen City of the West” once stood the red man’s wigwams;” (Page 32). A bold statement follows about how nature was plentiful, until pale face came with their
Jim Valvano, otherwise known as “Jimmy V”, was a college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. This paper will cover Jimmy and define his true leadership qualities. Jimmy was an icon in the sports world not only for his coaching ability. He taught the world that leaders need a vision, leaders need to connect with their followers, and that leaders learn from their followers. Jimmy defied the rules and transformed his players into exceptionally good players and even better people. He taught more than basketball to his players and reached outside of his coaching arena to touch the lives of people across the world.
He experienced joy, pain, satisfaction and disappointment through it, but ultimately, he let social pressure overcome his spirit and change who he was meant to become. Hockey allowed him to physically and mentally mature as a person, but it was the sport itself, at the end, that led to his destruction. His journey as a player is a clear representation of the racism that is still unconditionally present in our community and that has to be overcome in order obtain social equity in sports and other recreational
David McCullough Jr., delivered the commencement at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts on June 1st 2012 to staff, the 2012 graduates, and their family and friends. The speech was straightforward and supplied valuable information for their future. . McCullough’s speech at times felt harsh, offensive, and insulting. His words and examples were given to achieve insight, knowledge, and awareness for each student’s future. The commencement expressed a great deal of achievement, but conveyed that there was more work to be done. His speech was effective and appreciated through humor parallelism, repetition, and anaphora. His point of view has obtained respect and determination by all those that have been challenged and have heard his words.
David Ortiz has saved the lives of hundreds of children by giving them medical care they would not otherwise have access to through his charity, the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. In February of 2005, he visited CEDIMAT hospital in the Dominican Republic, where he saw children suffering after they had heart surgery. He instantly donated two hundred thousand dollars to the hospital. Ortiz started his charity because he wants to give children everywhere the opportunity to live long, happy lives (DavidOrtiz.com). He makes sure that kids who need urgent care receive it as soon as possible. In the first year alone, sixty kids were given open-heart surgery (DavidOrtiz.com). With his aid, kids who cannot afford or do not have access t...
Herb Brooks was born on August 5, 1937 in St. Paul Minnesota (Herb Brooks). Growing up in Minnesota, he became attached to the sport of ice hockey. He spent years practicing and playing this sport, and in 1955, he led his high school team to the state championship. After three years of college at the University of Minnesota, he joined the 1960 Olympic hockey team, but was cut from the team just before the Olympic games. He played for the United States in the next two Olympic games, and in 1970 he picked up his coaching career at the University of Minnesota. In his six year’s of coaching at the university, he led the team to three national championships (Herb Brooks). In 1980, his United States Olympic hockey team, consisting of all college students, achieved one of the greatest spectacles in sports history: “The miracle on ice.” His team beat the Soviets in a white-knuckle, heart pounding game with a score of four to three. The Soviet’s were a well trained, terrifying team that were considered to be the greatest hockey team that has ever taken the ice. After leading his team to this miraculous victory, he continued his coaching career up until his tragic death in 2003. His high expectations for his team and his fearful, powerful motivational techniques led him down a path of greatness that helped him become an inspiration to all.
Jim Brown saw a life outside of football. He wasn’t interested in just being known as the greatest athlete of all time. He was interested in making the greatest contribution in the world. From breaking through acting barriers to taking on society’s ills his aim is to give a new generation the courage to succeed. His accomplishments off the field were more impressive than those on the football field. (Jim Brown Biography)
He didn’t take his sport seriously because he knew he was going to get a trophy anyway, whether he won or lost. Giving a trophy to a kid who maybe didn’t participate in a game but tried his absolute hardest in practice to get better is understandable. However, giving a kid who did nothing in practice to make himself better just shows that child that you don’t need to work for anything in life because either way you will get rewarded. “There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” And what about those kids who aren’t that great at activities, or they don’t show up to practices? Should they still get a trophy? Are they qualified to sit in the same category as a kid who works their butts off in practice, shows up everyday, and is a good sport? I understand showing that everyone is equal, but there comes a point when you have to show a child that they need to work for what they
Priceman states,”They were taught that these awards were placeholders in life. They were records of accomplishment.” It reminds kids of their hard work in a sport. In some cases participation awards are okay, like special needs, and if used correctly, to build a child’s self esteem. But in many cases it does not help children in real life. By giving them too many awards some kids think they cannot live up to the hype, and it brings their self esteem down. While others are the opposite, “When parents regularly overpraised their children’s performances, their children were more likely to be narcissistic two years later”
Imagine growing up in a small town, with low poverty, and then becoming an adult, living in the most extravagant place with over 5 million dollars to spend. Anthony Rizzo was the man who can make it possible. Rizzo is a popular icon and baseball player to many young and old people across the world. He is admired for much more than baseball. Outside of the stadium, he helps out, as he helps the less fortunate. Rizzo was born on August 8, 1989 and has an older brother, mom and dad (“Learn about Anthony Rizzo”). He lived a nice life until he was diagnosed with cancer on April 2008. He had limited state classical Hodgkin's lymphoma. After years of being involved in baseball and eventually becoming a millionaire, he now focuses his time and money on helping people and playing baseball. Anthony Rizzo is a person who continues to impact the world through his endless charitable work.
Jim Valvano was the head coach for the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 1992, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and as a result he created the V Foundation, whose raises money for cancer research. In 1993, Valvano won the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPY’s. In his acceptance speech, Valvano effectively incorporates the three appeals of speech writing, but uses a strong ethos appeal to capture the audience. Through such a strong ethos appeal, Valvano makes himself worthy for the award he is receiving, which is the goal for any acceptance speech. Valvano’s speech is also effective because he uses four of the six parts of a speech, found in the Ad Herenium. In Valvano’s speech, exordium, narration, proof, and peroration are present. Since the purpose of this speech is not to get the hearers to donate, division (showing the difference between you and your opponent) and refutation (lowering your opponent’s arguments) are not needed. So let us go through Valvano’s speech to see the different parts where he makes his ethos appeal.
Last March, an undefeated basketball squad faced a tragic loss, and unfortunately it was not the game. An undefeated season was on the line for the Fennvile Blackhawks, and the whole town was in attendance. The game went into overtime and Wes Leonard was ready for it. Seconds left in overtime, the score was tied again. It was the last play of the game, and Wes Leonard drove to the basket for a lay up, putting them up by two. Time expired and fans rushed the court looking for the hero that made that game winning basket. Seconds later that hero collapsed to the ground. Wes Leonard, a 16 year old healthy boy, died minutes after his dream, a game winning shot, of a cardiac arrest. ( Moisse Sec. 1 Par. 1-3)
Cancer, like humor, is an equal opportunity offender. And cancer has become almost like a national pastime, which is just another display of the brilliance of Sherman Alexie. You can’t go anywhere without running into multicolored ribbons and pricey paraphernalia commodifying death and infantilizing the very personal and agonizing fight to survive cancer. Everything put in place to raise awareness in order to find a cure has been done with the very best of intentions and the hope for a future without the dark, overhanging cloud that cancer brings to so many people’s lives. But that support ironically creates a sense of audience, of fandom and voyeurism, the ribbons becoming the admission tickets to the new national pastime. Cancer itself is like a bad joke that just won’t quit.