On Monday, ESPN announced that Caitlyn Jenner will be honored at the 2015 ESPY Awards and will receive the prestigious Arthur Ashe Courage Award in July for coming out as transgender.
“Bruce has received many accolades over the years for being one of the greatest Olympians of our time but The ESPYS are honored to celebrate Bruce becoming Caitlyn,” ESPYs executive producer Maura Mandt said in a statement following Caitlyn’s big reveal on the cover of Vanity Fair.
The announcement inevitably received some backlash on social media and soon after, a photo of double amputee Noah Galloway began circulating on Twitter with users claiming the army veteran was the “runner up” for the prestigious honor. While Galloway’s accomplishments are undoubtedly honorable, an ESPN spokeswoman confirmed to E! News that there is no such thing as a “runner up” for their 3 key awards – the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
