Join WhatsApp Channel
Join Telegram ChannelSouth Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at Thursday night's ESPY Awards.
Staley joins a long list of recipients, including Dick Vitale, Liam Hendriks, Jim Kelly and the late Stuart Scott and Craig Sager amid their battles with cancer and Eric LeGrand after he was paralyzed following a tackle during a Rutgers football game.
The coach received the award, named after famed basketball coach Jim Valvano after his famous speech at the 1993 ESPYS, for his leadership efforts in women's sports and his help in the fight against cancer.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Dawn Staley accepts the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance onstage during the 2024 ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
In her impassioned acceptance speech, she advocated for pay equity.
“How can I not fight injustice when I’m asking them to do the right thing?” Staley said. “How can I not demand justice when I’m asking them not to cheat themselves, not to make concessions? How can I not fight for fairness when I’m telling them they can climb as high as they want, they can be anything they want?”
“How can I not fight against pay disparity when I do the same job and get paid less but make more? They look at me; I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down, and I can’t ask them to use their voices to create change if I’m only willing to whisper. So when someone tells me to ‘shut up and coach,’ I just say ‘no.’ I have a job to do.”
Dawn Staley speaks at the ESPYS. (Getty Images/Frank Micelotta)
SERENA WILLIAMS THROWS SHADE AT HARRISON BUTKER WHILE CELEBRATING WOMEN'S SPORTS AT ESPYS: 'WE DON'T NEED YOU'
According to USA Today, Staley's $3.1 million salary this year is the second-highest among women's coaches, but would be 38th among men's coaches.
Earlier this week, she asked Barack Obama if the United States could “borrow” his wife, Michelle, for “four short years.”
She also recently spoke out in support of transgender women in women's sports.
“I think if you’re a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion,” Staley said. during the March Madness tournament.
When asked if she thought “transgender women should be able to participate in women's college basketball,” Staley said, “Yes.”
Aubryanna Hall, Chloe Kitts, Raven Johnson, Dawn Staley, Sania Feagin, Te-Hina Paopao, Tessa Johnson, Ashlyn Watkins, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Adhel Tac and Sakima Walker attend the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for W+P)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Staley and the Gamecocks completed a perfect season, defeating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the national championship in April. It was her third title and second in three seasons.
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage on Xand subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.