In 1993 ESPN decided to hold an award ceremony to recognize the greatest athletes in the world, much like what the Oscars are for film. While there were awards for the athletes the greatest speech of that night came from the former NC State men’s basketball head coach ‘Jimmy V’ who was diagnosed with cancer 8 months prior. Jimmy V was awarded the “Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award” for his courage in facing cancer. His speech has raised millions of dollars for cancer research and has inspired a countless number of people. That one speech has forever changed how sports and service are connected.
Jimmy V was one of the most outgoing
coaches of all time. He would joke
around with the announcers of the game before it started and was always willing
to do an interview for any broadcast.
The pinnacle of his career was in 1983 when his NC State team won the
national championship as a large underdog.
He never turned down the spot light.
When he was diagnosed with cancer he
still kept up that glowing attitude. In
his speech at the ESPYS he didn’t use the time to talk about himself though, he
wanted to create a better world. He
announced the start of “The V Foundation for Cancer Research” that night. This foundation raises millions of dollars
every year by having a college men’s basketball week called Jimmy V week on
ESPN in which they ask for donations.
Every year ESPN will air Jimmy V’s plea to the world to help end cancer
by donating to this foundation. It is
one of the only continuous charity programs that are aired on ESPN, which is
the largest provider of sports in the United States.
“Don’t give up…Don’t ever give up”
this is the motto that Jimmy V coined that night. If that phrase is repeated to any long term fan
of college basketball they will immediately think of Jimmy V. He also said “Cancer can take
away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my
heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry
on forever.” That phrase is something
that reaches out to all people. People
are afraid of death, rather it be their own death or the death of a loved one. To know that someone who is staring down
death refuses to give up to a terrible disease is incredibly heart
warming. This is not something that just
die hard sports fans can relate to, instead it is a message that is comforting
to everyone.
At one
point in the speech a light started flashing at Jimmy V telling him he had 30
seconds left in which he responded, “They got that screen up there flashing 30
seconds, like I care about that screen. I got tumors all over my body and I'm
worried about some guy in the back going 30 seconds.” He showed that even during this serious
moment in his life that he could still laugh, and better yet that he could laugh
at himself. There are not a lot of
cancer patients that would joke around about having tumors all over their body,
but Jimmy V didn’t want to be like everyone else. He wanted to give hope to all of those other
people who were and are affected by this terrible disease.
Eight weeks
after this amazing speech Jimmy V passed away in North Carolina. It was a sad moment for the entire sporting
world. One of the happiest men to ever
coach had passed away. He made sports
fun again for lots of players and fans, but now they would never hear his smile
inducing laugh again. So people started
listening to that speech over and over again.
It was the last piece of Jimmy V that existed. Jimmy V changed the way basketball was
played, he created the idea that an underdog could win against the big guys,
but his biggest legacy was his speech eight weeks before he passed away. He has inspired multiple generations both
inside and outside of sports. He has
given people a piece of hope that not everything is going to be terrible. Most of all he created something that cancer
can not take away and that is the Jimmy V foundation, a foundation that
continually provides hope for cancer patients.
Jimmy V lived like he was bigger than life and even after he passed away
he still has an enormous impact on the lives of millions.
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