She has been called the greatest female athlete of her time.\u00a0It\u2019s a reflection of the success she achieved as a track and field superstar.\u00a0But it\u2019s also an apt way to describe Jackie Joyner-Kersee as a person. She is the greatest.\u00a0The East St. Louis native and six-time Olympic medalist is as gracious, kind and humble as they come.<\/p>\n
For embodying those virtues on the track and throughout her life, Joyner-Kersee is receiving the highest award for sportsmanship: the Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award.\u00a0It will be presented to her at the Musial Awards as part of an extraordinary night celebrating and elevating sportsmanship in America.\u00a0The event takes place on Nov. 18 at the Peabody Opera House in\u00a0St. Louis.<\/p>\n
The Musial Awards \u2013 presented by Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP \u2013 honor the year\u2019s greatest moments of sportsmanship and the biggest names in sports for their class and character. Produced annually by the St. Louis Sports Commission and the National Sportsmanship Foundation, the event and its awards are named for Stan Musial, the late St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer who was the ultimate good sport.<\/p>\n
The Musial Lifetime Achievement Award is the pinnacle honor bestowed at the event.\u00a0It recognizes an iconic sports figure who is synonymous with sportsmanship and exemplifies the class, generosity, excellence, and integrity for which Stan the Man was known.\u00a0Joyner-Kersee joins Joe Torre (2014), Arnold Palmer (2015) and Cal Ripken Jr. (2016) as recipients.<\/p>\n
Here are the recipients of the 2017 Musial Awards:<\/p>\n
Michael Bidwill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, a Bidwill is indeed receiving an award for sportsmanship in St. Louis.\u00a0 Michael Bidwill, the Arizona Cardinals president and son of owner Bill Bidwill, is being recognized for an admirable gesture of kindness and goodwill.\u00a0 For 25 years, the St. Louis Tom Lombardo chapter of the National Football Foundation has organized a banquet honoring the area\u2019s top high school football players and scholar-athletes.\u00a0 The Rams had helped fund the banquet, but the team\u2019s support ended with its move to Los Angeles, leaving the local chapter in a bind.\u00a0 This past spring, someone suggested the group reach out to Bidwill and the Cardinals for help.\u00a0 The team\u2019s reply?\u00a0 \u201cSend us a bill.\u201d\u00a0 Bidwill came forward with a $10,000 donation.\u00a0 Despite the falling out between St. Louis and the Bidwill family from the Cardinals\u2019 departure nearly 30 years ago, Michael Bidwill hasn\u2019t turned his back on the community.\u00a0 His good deed is a great example of what it means to be a good sport.<\/p>\n Kaleb Carter and Carla Collins:<\/strong>\u00a0 In June, Carter and Collins competed in a Special Olympics bocce ball tournament in Medford, Ore.\u00a0 The teammates were awarded the gold medal.\u00a0 But after the medal ceremony, officials realized there was a scoring error, and the duo actually finished second.\u00a0 Special Olympics rules dictate that medals cannot be taken away from an athlete, even if given in error.\u00a0 But when informed of the mistake, without hesitation, Carter and Collins sought out the winning pair and placed the gold medals around their necks.<\/p>\n Aliyah Charbonier:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 At the Sugar Bert Boxing National Championship in Florida last fall, Charbonier, of Clermont, Fla., was set to box Amaiya Zafar, a 16-year-old opponent from Minnesota.\u00a0 But prior to the match, officials called off the fight and disqualified Zafar.\u00a0 As a devout Muslim, Zafar wears a hijab under her headgear as well as leggings and a shirt under her shorts and top \u2013 all of which were in violation of uniform rules set by the International Boxing Association for safety reasons.\u00a0 Charbonier felt the decision was unfair, even though she was declared the winner.\u00a0 The 15-year-old fighter was especially disappointed because young female boxers are challenged to find opponents.\u00a0 So she went up to Zafar, told her she was the true winner, and gave her the championship belt.<\/p>\n Abbey D\u2019Agostino:<\/strong>\u00a0 The American distance runner was responsible for the standout story of sportsmanship at the Rio Olympics.\u00a0 In the 5,000-meter race, D\u2019Agostino collided with Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand causing both athletes to fall to the track.\u00a0 D\u2019Agostino got to her feet, but instead of continuing on, she helped Hamblin up and encouraged her to finish the race.\u00a0 It was an instance of remarkable selflessness.\u00a0 Moments later, Hamblin returned the favor as D\u2019Agostino\u2019s leg buckled from injury.\u00a0 Both runners crossed the finish line, an especially amazing feat for D\u2019Agostino, who was diagnosed with a torn ACL.<\/p>\n Carl Edwards:<\/strong>\u00a0 Last November at Homestead\u2014Miami Speedway, Edwards was among four drivers in contention for NASCAR\u2019s Cup Series championship.\u00a0 He led the season finale race with 10 laps to go.\u00a0 But as he tried to block competitor Joey Logano from passing him on a restart, the two drivers crashed, ending Edwards\u2019 shot for his first Cup Series title.\u00a0 Instead of losing his cool, as other athletes might have done, Edwards took the high road and showed pure class.\u00a0 He walked over to Logano\u2019s pit crew, shook hands with crew chief Todd Gordon, and wished the team good luck.\u00a0 It was a gesture of extraordinary sportsmanship that was lauded throughout NASCAR.\u00a0 Based on the character he has shown throughout his career, it was not a surprise Edwards would take such a gracious approach.\u00a0 Winner of NASCAR\u2019s Busch Series in 2011 and holder of 28 Cup Series wins, the Columbia, Mo., native\u2019s success on the track is equaled by the class, respect and humility he has personified over time.<\/p>\n Matthew Garcia:<\/strong>\u00a0 Talk about uplifting. Garcia, a high school cross country runner from San Antonio, was in the stands last fall watching his younger brother\u2019s youth football game. On the sidelines, the opposing team\u2019s cheerleaders were performing a set of cheers involving their parents. As part of one of the routines, all of the cheerleaders were hoisted on the shoulders of their dads \u2013 with the exception of 9-year-old Addie Rodriguez, who was in tears. She had no one to lift her up because her father, a senior airman and medevac tech in the Air Force, was away on a training mission. Seeing Addie\u2019s plight, Garcia ran down from his seat, jumped the fence separating the bleachers from the field, and asked Addie if he could pick her up. He lifted her above his shoulders to the delight of Addie\u2019s mom and the crowd in attendance.<\/p>\n Paul Mainieri:<\/strong>\u00a0 In February, the LSU baseball program turned a home stand against Army and Air Force into a military appreciation weekend. The centerpiece of the tribute was a \u201cSoldier Salute,\u201d an idea devised by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri, one of the most successful and respected head coaches in college baseball. In the middle of each game, during a break between innings, Mainieri had his entire squad walk across the diamond to the other dugout, shake hands with the opposing players, and thank each cadet for their service. It was a unique and inspiring moment of sportsmanship, and a wonderful example of respect and appreciation on the playing field.<\/p>\n Dion Puthoff:<\/strong>\u00a0 The shortstop for the Russia (Ohio) High School baseball team, Puthoff found himself on the losing end of the state championship game after a walk-off hit by Jon Niemeyer of Minster High School. With the relay throw too late to prevent the winning run from scoring, Puthoff also found himself in possession of the baseball when the game ended. He held onto it, temporarily thinking it would make for a nice souvenir from what was an otherwise great season. But in the following days, Puthoff decided he wasn\u2019t the rightful owner and the ball would mean much more to Niemeyer. So Puthoff boxed up the baseball with a note of congratulations, got in his car, and drove 20 miles to Niemeyer\u2019s home in Minster.\u00a0 The Niemeyer family expressed their gratitude on Twitter, and from there, the story \u2013 and the baseball \u2013 went viral.<\/p>\n Krista Young, Levi Thompson, and the Hawkeye Wave:<\/strong>\u00a0This football season, a magical tradition started at the University of Iowa. At the end of the first quarter of every Iowa home game, Hawkeye fans wave to the patients inside Iowa Children\u2019s Hospital, which overlooks Kinnick Stadium. More than 70,000 fans get into the act, but it was the work of two \u2013 Young and Thompson \u2013 who got it all started. Earlier this year, Young asked Thompson, who manages the popular Facebook fan site Hawkeye Heaven, to use his platform to do something special for the kids at the hospital. They decided waving to them at the end of the first quarter would be the perfect thing. So throughout the summer, Levi promoted the idea. By the home opener, his posts had 2 million views, and the Hawkeye Wave was born. Now, every football Saturday in Iowa City, a collective spirit brings joy to those battling illness.<\/p>\n Additional background and stories on all of the 2017 Musial Awards honorees can be found by clicking on the \u201cHonorees\u201d link at MusialAwards.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n