Steve Gleason to receive Arthur Ashe Award for Courage (2024)

It comes as little surprise, if any at all, that Steve Gleason will receive the 2024 Arthur Ashe Award for Courage this year at the ESPYs, on July 11.

The vast parameters of the award – not limited to sports-related people or actions, presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports – ably are filled by Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints safety from 2000-06 who in 2011 was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

Since his diagnosis, Gleason has been awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2019 for his contributions to ALS awareness (the first NFL player to receive the award), received the George Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers Association in 2015 and in 2016, been subject of a documentary ("Gleason") which was shown during the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, and co-authored a best-selling book, "A Life Impossible," that was released this year and chronicles his life before and after his ALS diagnosis.

Gleason wrote the book solely using his eyes, via a keyboard equipped with eye-tracking software. The progression of the terminal disease, which attacks the nervous system, has left him unable to walk, talk, move or breathe on his own.

The initial Arthur Ashe Award four Courage was presented to Jim Valvano in 1993, and previous recipients include Muhammad Ali (1997), Billie Jean King (1999), Pat Tillman (2003) and Nelson Mandela (2009).

Gleason took to Z to thank ESPN for the award.

"Over the past 13 years, I've been documenting our journey with ALS," Gleason wrote. "My aim has always been to see if we can discover peace and freedom with a love of Life, in the midst of extreme adversity. Being recognized at The 2024 ESPYS is not just an honor, but a powerful platform to further help and serve others. Thank you, ESPN, for this incredible accolade."

Gleason became an iconic figure in Saints history with his blocked punt against Atlanta in 2006, after the Caesars Superdome re-opened and the Saints played their first home game following Hurricane Katrina.

ESPN, which is responsible for presenting the Arthur Ashe Award four Courage, says the recipients reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe, a tennis great and the only Black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, who died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993. Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV through a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery in 1983.

Recipients of the award possess "strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost," according to ESPN.

The ESPYs presents two awards that are not competition based: The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, and the Jimmy V Award. In 2017, Saints superfan Jarrius Robertson was presented the Jimmy V Award. Robertson was born with biliary artresia, affecting his rate of growth and forcing him to undergo two liver transplants and 13 surgeries.

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A Day in the Life: Steve Gleason

New Orleans Saints legend Steve Gleason visited the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 where he delivered copies of his new book "A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence" to owner Gayle Benson, head coach Dennis Allen, plus several players and coaches.