Tyler Trent and Lina Khalifeh will be honored with the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award at the 2019 Sports Humanitarian Awards on July 9 in Los Angeles.
Ciara will host the event, with a musical performance by Andy Grammer. The event takes place the night before the ESPYS, honoring athletes, teams and sports industry professionals who use the power of sport to make a difference throughout the world.
Trent, who died on Jan. 1 from a rare form of bone cancer, inspired countless sports fans with his gratitude and grace. The Purdue University student was a fixture at the school’s football games, even while fighting his cancer.
He raised thousands of dollars to support cancer research, and was honored with the Disney Spirit Award and the Sagamore of the Wabash award, the highest civilian award given to Indiana citizens. He was honorary bowl captain and went to midfield for the pregame coin toss at the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl less than a week before died.
Khalifeh is a Taekwondo champion from Jordan with 20 gold medals under her belt from national and international completions. She create SheFighter, the first women’s-only, self-defense school in the Middle East, and has trained more than 18,000 women globally since 2012.
SheFighter now has studios in more than 35 countries.
Reggie Bullock of the Los Angeles Lakers, retired NFL player Chris Long, Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and former U.S. Open tennis champion Sloane Stephens are the finalists for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
The Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year finalists are the Anaheim Ducks (NHL), Chicago Fire Soccer Club (MLS), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), and New York City Football Club (MLS).
Anthem Foundation, Burton Snowboards, Finish Line and Brooks Running, and Under Armour are the Corporate Community Impact Award finalists.
The honorees of the inaugural Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award and the Sports Sustainability Leadership Award, along with the League Humanitarian Leadership Award, also will be announced.
The Sports Humanitarian Awards are presented by ESPN and sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. A one-hour recap of the event will be on ESPN on July 18 at 7 p.m. ET.
The net proceeds of the event benefit the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation. To date, $7.5 million has been donated to the community on behalf of the Sports Humanitarian Awards. ESPN will also make a charitable contribution on behalf of the winners.
Multiple sports leagues and/or governing bodies including MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, Top Rank, UFC, USTA, WNBA and WWE nominated athletes, teams and corporations who are transforming lives and uplifting communities.