ESPN's annual award show, the ESPY Awards, is a night to celebrate the best athletes from around the sports world. However, according to those close to a few of the female athletes nominated for awards, ESPN failed to invite multiple nominees to the ESPYs.
Caprice Dydasco, the star defender from the NY/NJ Gotham FC of the NWSL, and Aliyah Boston, the dominant center from South Carolina's women's basketball, were both nominated for an ESPY yet neither received an invitation to attend the actual show.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley called out ESPN and the ESPYs for not inviting Boston, who was nominated for the “Best College Athlete, Women's Sports” after leading the Gamecocks to a national championship last season. Dydasco's teammate, Nicole Baxter, slammed ESPN for not inviting Dydasco to the ESPYs, which nominated her for the “Best NWSL Player” award.
Like really….who in the room from @espn @ESPYS decided it was a great idea not to invite @MarchMadnessWBB NPOY DPOY….not one person was able to see the uproar this would cause? There’s definitely something wrong with the make up of the room……the fight continue….#WBBSTANDUP
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) July 17, 2022
According to Meredith Cash of Insider, a representative from ESPN claimed that the venue that is being used for this year's ESPYs, the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, forced the show to make tough decisions on who to invite.
A representative for ESPN told Insider that “both COVID restrictions and a new venue with much less seating capacity than previous shows” forced the company to “prioritize athlete invitations to focus on specific awards that will be handed out during the broadcast.
ESPN has promoted women's sports more prominently in recent years by broadcasting more WNBA games and the creation of the Fifty/50 series to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. They failed to invite two key award nominees and then tried to back it up with an invalid excuse. The treatment of the female athletes nominated for awards displays a horrible lack of respect.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry will host the ESPYs, which will be broadcasted on ABC on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM EST.
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