The field of play is often the classroom of lessons and morals. It is where athletes must consciously think about teamwork, about commitment and sacrifice, and about ways to better themselves and others. The perpetual quest for the championship in any athletic setting pushes players to constantly ask: “How can I be better? How can I better those around me?”
Sometimes, the answers to those questions come from more dire circumstances. Jim Valvano – remembered fondly as ‘Jimmy V’ – was the first recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first annual ESPYS in 1993. During his unforgettable acceptance speech, Valvano reflected on important life lessons in the wake of his diagnosis with metastatic adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer.
“There are three things we should do every day,” said Valvano. “Number one is laugh… Number two is think. And number three is have your emotions moved to tears….If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day.”
Jimmy V reflected on the lessons learned both on and off the court. As the head coach of the North Carolina State men’s basketball team during their 1983 NCAA Championship run, Valvano remembered the buzzer-beater shot that clinched the title. During his speech – in light of his diagnosis with cancer – he translated lessons from coaching and playing into a perspective on life. His message to everyone: “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”
Valvano’s ESPY speech came just two months before he died. But in his memory and his poetic juxtaposition of success in sports with success in life, we continue to find powerful examples of goodness in sports that fit perfectly with Valvano’s advice. Many of those now reside on the five pillars within our Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development. Jimmy V’s words, too, live prominently on our ‘Balance’ pillar.
The quotes and stories that share space on that pillar both reflect and echo Jimmy V’s timeless advice:
“Don’t ever forget that you play with your mind as well as your body,” reflects basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“Sports are not merely the exercise of muscles,” says the late Pope John Paul II, “[but] a means to total and harmonious physical, moral and social development.”
ESPN will continue to honor Valvano’s legacy next Wednesday at the 2014 ESPYS. Since Valvano received the first Arthur Ashe Award, recipients have included Muhammed Ali, Nelson Mandela, Robin Roberts, and the four men who led the charge against terrorist hijackers on Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. The ESPYS also honor Valvano with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, which last year was presented to the Boston Marathon father/son team of Dick and Rick Hoyt, whom we wrote about earlier this year as they completed their last race.
Find more information about the upcoming ESPYS here, or learn more about the Jimmy V Foundation and a unique online auction to support cancer research at this link.