Experience Steve Gleason’s Inspiring Address at the 2024 ESPY Awards

Former New Orleans Saints star Steve Gleason received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at Thursday night’s ESPY awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Presenting Gleason at the Dolby Theater was his former Saints teammate, quarterback Drew Brees. Gleason’s moving acceptance speech followed a 6-minute video highlighting his life story.

Here is a transcript of Gleason’s 4-minute acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe Award, the ESPYs’ most prestigious honor, given to athletes who embody Arthur Ashe’s spirit of strength, courage, and commitment to their beliefs in the face of adversity:

“Hello everyone. Hi, Gray, and Momma. And thanks for your help, Rivers.

Receiving the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage is an incredible honor for me. And I always relish the chance to wear my tuxedo!

Arthur Ashe epitomized courage by living with humility, kindness, and generosity, which united humanity. So, receiving this award is truly amazing.

When I learned about receiving this award, I started reflecting on the meaning of ‘courage.’

To be courageous, we must first confront loneliness, unworthiness, or any form of fear. When I was diagnosed with ALS in 2011 and told I had three years to live, fear became my constant companion.

For me, this award symbolizes hope and triumph for families currently facing ALS, for all living with disabilities or illnesses, and for anyone experiencing fear or suffering.

If you’ve never experienced fear, isolation, or suffering, you can kindly leave!

The truth is, no one is immune from fear or adversity, not even superstar athletes, royalty, or saints.

Recognizing this truth about our humanity, it’s crucial that each of us, individually and collectively, finds ways to be brave and embrace the life we have.

In my view, the fears and adversities we encounter are opportunities to accept our circumstances and discover what lies beyond fear—to grow stronger, better, and find peace.

From this perspective, navigating life’s challenges with resilience is our human purpose.

I believe our ability to courageously share our vulnerabilities with one another is our greatest strength.

Through this openness, we can understand each other’s struggles, collaborate compassionately to solve problems, and overcome fear. Without the understanding and compassionate support from my family, community, and caregivers, I wouldn’t be here today.

Through this lens, it’s evident we are all interconnected. We are all global citizens.

Given this interconnectedness, our greatest human calling is to generously help, serve, and love others.

Do we have the courage to unconditionally love our neighbors, even those we consider enemies, and ourselves?

It’s undeniable that we face immense challenges in the 21st century.

If we can bravely share our fears and limitations with one another and work together with compassion to solve problems, our potential as humans is limitless. If we can listen, understand, and alleviate each other’s suffering, then truly, anything is possible.”