Boxer Kim Clavel has been selected to receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service during The 2020 ESPYS. Clavel was chosen for this honor for her dedication to others—returning to nursing amid the global crisis.
Via ESPN
What’s happening:
- ESPN has announced that professional boxer, Kim Clavel has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
- Clavel was chosen for the prestigious honor for deciding to step back from the sport to focus her attention on those affected by the coronavirus.
- Before making her professional boxing debut in December of 2017, Clavel’s career focus was in the medical field where she worked as a nurse.
- In August of 2019, Clavel took a year-long leave of absence to pursue boxing full time, however in March of 2020 as the COVID-19 crisis was escalating in North America, she decided to temporarily hang up her gloves.
- Since March, the Canandian hero has been working on the front lines bringing hope and healing to some of the most vulnerable individuals suffering amid the crisis.
- Clavel will be honored with the award during The 2020 ESPYS presented by Capital One.
- The ceremony will air June 21 at 9 pm ET on ESPN.
- The Pat Tillman Award for Service is sponsored by MassMutual.
What they’re saying:
- Kim Clavel: “It is an honor to receive the Pat Tillman Award on behalf of all the healthcare workers battling COVID-19 on the frontlines. Just as Pat put his NFL career on hold to serve his country, I felt the same duty to serve my community. Although recently I have pursued my dream of boxing, helping people is my passion and I’m proud to be able to make a difference.”
- Marie Tillman, board chair and co-founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation: “Choosing to return to the front lines of healthcare amid an unprecedented global pandemic, Kim personifies the spirit of service, duty and selflessness that Pat embodied. In spite of the dangers from COVID and delays to her budding boxing career, Kim chose to focus her energy on those most in need. In Pat’s name, we are honored to present the Tillman Award to Kim for her service and leadership in her healthcare work and throughout this crisis.”.
About the Award:
- The Pat Tillman Award for Service was established in 2014 to commemorate the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger’s legacy, and honoring an individual with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes Tillman’s legacy.
- Kim Clavel will be presented with the award during The 2020 ESPYS in conjunction with the Pat Tillman Foundation, a national leader in providing academic support and scholarships to veterans, active-duty service members and their spouses.
- Past honorees include:
- U.S. Paralympic gold medal sled hockey player and Purple Heart recipient Josh Sweeney (2014)
- Former Notre Dame basketball player, Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient Danielle Green (2015)
- U.S. Army Sgt. and Invictus Games gold medalist Elizabeth Marks (2016)
- Purple Heart recipient and Invictus Games gold medalist Israel Del Toro (2017)
- Navy-Marine Commendation Medal recipient, Sergeant and founder of Team Rubicon Jake Wood (2018)
- Former Marine and founder of the Kristie Ennis Foundation, Kristie Ennis (2019).
- For more information on the Pat Tillman Foundation and the impact of the Tillman Scholars, visit www.PatTillmanFoundation.org.