Dawn Staley gives empassioned speech after winning ESPYS’ Jimmy V Award: ‘I have a job to do’

There is perhaps no honor at the ESPYS each year than being the recipient of the Jimmy V Award.

Given at each year’s ceremony to “a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination,” the honor is named for Jim Valvano, whose Arthur Ashe Courage Award acceptance speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards ceremony remains the gold standard for the event.

2024 Jimmy V Award winner Dawn Staley certainly gave Valvano a run for his money after accepting the award Thursday evening.

The South Carolina women’s basketball coach, who led her team to a national title this past season, her third in 16 seasons, became the first individual woman to win the award since Kay Yow in 2007.

“Past recipients of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award have faced incredible challenges and proven themselves as true warriors,” Staley said. “I have merely been a spectator to such immense courage and resilience.”

Staley discussed not just her passion for what happens on the court but the fights she’s had to deal with off of it.

“It’s the fight for me,” Staley said. “The unwillingness to give up or to quit. I think that’s why I stand here today.”

A two-time Naismith Player of the Year winner as a player at Virginia, Staley is considered a pioneer in what is now the thriving world of women’s basketball, Along with playing in the WNBA, she won three Olympic gold medals and was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013. She’s also led Team USA to Olympic gold as a coach and recently led the Gamecocks to women’s college basketball’s first undefeated season in over a decade.

Along with shouting out her players, Staley took time in her acceptance speech to honor girls and women everywhere who are battling cancer, a deeply personal issue for her, and many others. She also cited other challenges that women continue to push back against in the world, including misogyny, racism, and pay disparity.

“How do I not fight injustice when I ask them to do things the right way?” Staley asked. “How do I not fight for fairness when I ask them not to cheat themselves, not to cut corners? How do I not fight for equity when I tell them they can climb as high as they want, they can be all that they want? How do I not fight pay disparities when I do the same job, and get paid less, but win more?

“They’re watching me. I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down. Nor can I ask them to use their voice to affect change if I’m only willing to whisper. So when someone tells me to shut up and coach, I simply say, ‘No, I have a job to do.’”

[ABC/ESPN]