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Gleason to be honored at ESPYS for ALS advocacy

Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff WriterJun 27, 2024, 09:58 AM ET
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Former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason has been selected to receive the 2024 Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS, it was announced Thursday.

The award is given to individuals “whose contributions transcend sports.” Recipients of the award, which was first given in 1993, are intended to reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe and possess strength, courage and willingness to stand up for their beliefs in the face of adversity.

“Over the past 13 years, I’ve been documenting our journey with ALS. 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 wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.

Gleason, a standout special teams player for the Saints from 2000 to 2008, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2011.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, eventually robbing a person of the ability to move, talk or breathe. The disease is considered terminal and currently there is no cure.

Gleason, 47, and his wife, Michel, founded the nonprofit organization Team Gleason following his diagnosis. Team Gleason’s mission is to improve life for others living with ALS by providing technology, equipment and support services.

The Steve Gleason Act was passed in 2018 to ensure the availability of life-sustaining communication devices such as eye-tracking technology that allows individuals like Gleason to communicate using only their eyes.

In 2020, Gleason became the first football player to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded to civilians, for advocacy work with ALS.

Gleason, a special teams captain and the Saints’ leader in blocked punts, was most known on the field for his blocked punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the Saints’ first game back after the Superdome reopened in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina. A statue depicting the moment was erected on the Superdome concourse in 2014.

A documentary about Gleason’s life titled “Gleason” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. His memoir, “A Life Impossible,” which was co-written with Jeff Duncan, was released in April.

It was also announced Thursday that University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

The 2024 ESPYS, hosted by Serena Williams, will air live Thursday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

NFL

Missouri gov.: Aid plan in works for K.C. stadiums

Jun 27, 2024, 02:27 PM ET

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday that he expects the state to put together an aid plan by the end of the year to try to keep the Chiefs and Royals from being lured across state lines to new stadiums in Kansas.

Missouri’s renewed efforts come after Kansas approved a plan last week that would finance up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums for the professional football and baseball teams.

“We’re going to make sure that we put the best business deal we can on the line,” Parson told reporters while hosting the Chiefs’ two most recent Super Bowl trophies at the Capitol, where fans lined up for photos.

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“Look, I can’t blame Kansas for trying,” Parson added. “You know, if I was probably sitting there, I’d be doing the same thing. But at the end of the day, we’re going to be competitive.”

The Chiefs and Royals have played for over 50 years in side-by-side stadiums built in eastern Kansas City, drawing fans from both states in the split metropolitan area. Their stadium leases run until 2031. But Royals owner John Sherman has said the team won’t play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2030 season, expressing preference for a new downtown stadium.

Questions about the teams’ future intensified after Jackson County, Missouri, voters in April rejected a sales tax that would have helped fund a more than $2 billion downtown ballpark district for the Royals and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.

The tax plan faced several headwinds. Some Royals fans preferred the teams’ current site. Others opposed the tax. And still others had concerns about the new stadium plans, which changed just weeks ahead of the vote.

The emergence of Kansas as an alternative raised the stakes for Missouri officials and repeated a common pattern among professional sports teams, which often leverage one site against another in an effort to get the greatest public subsidies for new or improved stadiums.

Sports teams are pushing a new wave of stadium construction across the U.S., going beyond basic repairs to derive fresh revenue from luxury suites, dining, shopping and other developments surrounding their stadiums. On Tuesday, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, approved a $1.25 billion stadium renovation plan for the NFL’s Jaguars that splits the cost between the city and team.

Many economists assert that while stadiums may boost tax revenue in their immediate area, they tend to shift consumer spending away from other entertainment and seldom generate enough new economic activity to offset all the public subsidies.

Parson said, “the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals are big business,” comparing them to large companies that have received public aid such as Boeing, Ford and General Motors. But he added that any deal “has to work out on paper, where it’s going to be beneficial to the taxpayers of Missouri.”

“I think by the end of this year, we’re going to have something in place” to propose for the stadiums, Parson said.

Missouri’s still undefined plan likely would require legislative approval, but Parson said he doesn’t anticipate calling a special legislative session before his term ends in January. That means any plan developed by Parson’s administration in partnership with Kansas City area officials also would need the support of the next governor and a new slate of lawmakers.

Now that Kansas has enacted a financing law, discussions between the sports teams and the Kansas Department of Commerce could start at any time, but the agency has no timeline for finishing a deal, spokesperson Patrick Lowry said Thursday.

NFL

Ex-Stanford HC Shaw joins Broncos' front office

Jun 20, 2024, 10:36 AM ET

The Broncos have hired former Stanford head coach David Shaw as a senior personnel executive, the team announced Thursday.

When Shaw stepped down from Stanford in 2022, he expressed a desire to return to the NFL, where he spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach.

Shaw, 51, and Broncos coach Sean Payton worked together as rising offensive assistants with the Eagles in 1997.

David Shaw, who resigned from Stanford in 2022 as the school’s winningest football coach, is returning to the NFL with the Broncos. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Shaw also worked as an assistant with the

NFL

Source: Fins signing 6-time Pro Bowl DE Campbell

Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNJun 13, 2024, 09:10 PM ET
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MIAMI — The Dolphins have agreed to terms on a contract with defensive end Calais Campbell, a source confirmed Thursday to ESPN, adding a valuable veteran presence to an ascending pass rush.

Campbell, 37, joins the Dolphins after a renaissance with the Atlanta Falcons in his 16th NFL season. He played in every game for the first time since 2019 — a stated goal when he arrived in Atlanta last offseason — and had 6.5 sacks, his highest mark since 2019. He recorded 56 tackles, 17 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery while putting together his best season since 2019, when he made the Pro Bowl with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The former Miami Hurricanes star now reunites with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Edwards, who coached the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive line when Campbell played for them in 2021 and 2022.

Dolphins outside linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb both ranked in the top 20 in the NFL in pass rush win rate last season before Phillips tore his Achilles tendon in Week 12. Five weeks later, Chubb tore his ACL in Week 17. While each is expected to play in 2024, the team has declined to offer a timeline for either’s return, and neither participated in OTAs or minicamp this offseason.

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Miami signed veteran Shaq Barrett in March and continued to add to its pass rush via the draft, spending first- and fifth-round picks on Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara, respectively.

Campbell eclipsed 100 career sacks last season and, with 105.5, is tied with Elvis Dumervil for No. 32 on the official all-time sacks list (since 1982) and 48th on the unofficial list (since 1960).

The NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner in 2019, Campbell has been a first-team All-Pro once and made six Pro Bowl appearances.

Campbell, who also played for the Arizona Cardinals, has appeared in 244 career games (225 starts) while making 865 tackles, 175 tackles for loss, 254 quarterback hits, 17 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries, 58 passes defended and 3 interceptions.

NFL Network first reported the agreement between the Dolphins and Campbell.

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