On Saturday evening, some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment descended on The Rooftop at Pier 17 at the Seaport in New York City to celebrate the year’s best moments in sports at “The 2021 ESPYS Presented by Capital One.” The show was hosted by actor Anthony Mackie and aired live on ABC. Mackie, a New Orleans sports fan, joked about hating the Atlanta Falcons so much, he made sure to be on a flight when they were in the Super Bowl. He also welcomed his favorite New Orleans athlete to the show, 14-year old Scripps National Spelling Bee champion and basketball phenom, Zaila Avant-garde.
Mackie is one of the most talented actors working today. He is best known for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sam Wilson / The Falcon, and most recently took on the mantle of Captain America in Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which debuted on Disney+ in March. Mackie has starred in notable films such as Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker.” He also starred in and produced AppleTV+’s “The Banker” and Netflix’s action sci-fi film “Outside the Wire,” which became the #1 movie on the streaming platform its first week of release.
The evening’s first award went to Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who was named Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports. Recording artist Kane Brown and Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim presented Smith with the award. Best Athlete – Women’s Sports went to tennis superstar Naomi Osaka. NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball was awarded Best Breakthrough Athlete, and Gonzaga and UCLA took home the award for Best Game for the Bulldogs’ 93-90 win over the Bruins in a buzzer-beater upset in the NCAA Final Four.
The winner of the Best Play bracket was Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray who launched a game-winning Hail Mary pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to beat the Buffalo Bills. Best Championship Performance went to Olympian Simone Biles for winning her seventh U.S. all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady took home two awards for Best NFL Player and Best Athlete, Men’s Sports.
Each year, “The ESPYS” recognizes individuals in the world of sports who have demonstrated admirable perseverance, courage and strength in the face of adversity with three marquee awards: the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Award-winning actor Taye Diggs presented the Pat Tillman Award for Service to Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford for his advocacy work on homelessness and child hunger. Later in the show, Tim Tebow presented the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance to Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to have completed an Ironman triathlon. “Good Morning America”anchor Robin Roberts gave an emotional speech to present the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to WNBA superstar and activist Maya Moore, who departed from the sport at the peak of her career to rededicate her life to criminal justice reform.
“The ESPYS” help to raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the charity founded by ESPN and the late basketball coach Jim Valvano at the first ESPYS back in 1993. ESPN and the V Foundation have vowed to continue to raise awareness and funds for cancer research until there is victory over cancer.
The evening’s final award for Best Team was presented by New York Jets Legend Joe Namath to Super Bowl winners the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After the show, ESPN’s “The Undefeated”hosted a 30-minute Live Post ESPYS, which aired on the ESPN App, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook featuring recap of the evening, digging deeper into winners, recipients and highlights from moments from the night.
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