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Dick Vitale to receive Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at 2022 ESPYS
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Dick Vitale will be recognized in a special way at this year’s ESPYS. The Hall of Fame broadcaster will be honored with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at The 2022 ESPYS, ESPN announced Monday.
Vitale, 82, announced last summer that he had undergone multiple surgeries to remove melanoma. A few months later, Vitale was diagnosed with lymphoma and began 6 months of chemotherapy. In March, a scan showed Vitale was cancer-free.
“When I received the call from (ESPN Chairman) Jimmy Pitaro about receiving this award, I was absolutely blown away,” Vitale said in an ESPN release. “I remember that day almost 30 years ago, when I stood on stage at the first ESPYS, introduced Jimmy V and witnessed him give that incredible speech we all remember. I reflected on his speech many times during my 7-month battle – ‘don’t give up, don’t ever give up Dickie V’ – and I remembered my mother and father, who taught me never to believe in ‘can’t’. Jimmy V was special and his legacy lives on. I am so grateful to receive this tremendous award in his honor.”
Vitale’s Gala has helped raise $55 million for pediatric cancer research and the V Foundation.
“Dick is one of a kind,” Pitaro said via ESPN. “He has embodied the spirit of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance his entire career, and his fight against cancer has been no different. He has taken his struggle as an opportunity to help others, to help people to understand the challenges and to remove the stigmas and false assumptions. It’s fitting that we will present this award to him almost 30 years after he stood by Jimmy V’s side on the ESPYS stage, and it is an honor to add Dick to the distinguished list of winners of this award.”
Vitale missed the start of the 2021-22 college basketball season, his 43rd at ESPN, while undergoing cancer treatment. He made an emotional return to ESPN in November, but was forced to miss most of the season after having surgery to treat dysplasia and ulcerated lesions of the vocal cords.
The 2022 ESPYS will be held on July 20 at 8 p.m. ET, broadcast live on ABC.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
