... but. she didn’t grow up facing discrimination or being held back because of her skin color.

Congrats ... you win. #tipshat

Bad News ‘Bows

Million Dollar Elbow

For Shove of the Game

Field of Creamed

A Catcher in the Wrong

If I’ve learned anything from sports, it’s that you can’t just deck women at home and expect to get away with it.

A League of They’re Owned

Within the context of the Espys, I feel like giving this award to Caitlyn Jenner is perfectly acceptable.

I agree, and funny you should mention that. Lauren Hill should have won that award. No comparison in my book. A college basketball player struggling with the pain of terminal cancer and chemotherapy who uses that struggle to raise millions for cancer research? Or a reality show star getting plastic surgery and a new…

You make some good points in your first paragraph, but Stuart Scott never won the award. That being said, while the ESPYS are a joke, the list of people that won this award is pretty damn impressive. If you look at the list and what the winners have gone through, Michael Sam and Caitlin Jenner are pretty obvious…

Costas is right—-it is a cynical exploitation/tabloid play, calculated to get the speech shared on BuzzFeed and Facebook and Twitter and Gawker Media’s array of sites. PR’s doing its job.

ESPN has used the “Arthur Ashe Award” effectively twice. Once for Jim Valvano, once for Stuart Scott. Market’s just a little tight…

But, she hasn’t been an athlete for almost 40 years

I understand the sports connection, eg, Jenner. I understand the courage it took to go public with this - just look at the wild eyed reactions from the right and others. Jenner knew that would happen...or should have anyway. But I’m having to agree with you...I’m not getting why we’re making Jenner out to be a saint…

Well said.

I agree with you, and I think it’s a shame that Deadspin has become a place for performative sanctimony, where one has to preface and apologize for having a different perspective, even if it’s both reasonable and not offensive (like yours).

I don’t know Tom, I mean. I am afraid here at Deadspin to say what I think without repercussion. I mean, I get the ESPYs are just famewhoring anyways. I do think reasonable people (not necessarily just Bob Costas) have legit hesitations about hoisting Caitlyn up so unequivocally. I’m sorry :(

But also like, almost everyone that goes on that show is asked to do 16 bars so why wouldn't you prepare? If you really cared about having credibility in the rap world (LOL, but whatever), you could at least make an effort to cheat and memorize some bars the night before.