Latest news with #Biles
5 days ago
- Entertainment
What Simone Biles said backstage after winning 2 ESPYS
The hottest summer event in the sports world wasn't on a pitch or inside a stadium, it was at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Wednesday night, where the best athletes and entertainers gathered to celebrate the top moments in sports at The 2025 ESPYS. Shane Gillis' ESPYS monologue Comedian, actor and writer Shane Gillis delivered a sharp opening monologue as host, taking shots at the star-studded crowd and poking fun at everyone from Aaron Rodgers and Bill Belichick to Simone Biles and Shohei Ohtani. Despite a quip that likened Biles to a leprechaun for all her Olympic gold medals, the 28-year-old gymnast won even more hardware Wednesday night to add to her collection of accolades. Simone Biles wins big at ESPYS, behind the scenes moments with top athletes Biles took home two ESPYS on the night: best championship performance for her all-around win at the Paris Olympics and best athlete - women's sports. "It was very unexpected tonight, because the athletes in this room are absolutely phenomenal, and they're raising the bar each and every year," Biles told "Good Morning America" backstage. Biles told "GMA" later that despite performing on the largest global stages regularly as a gymnast, accepting an award onstage "is so nerve-racking." "It's definitely not like performing. I'd rather do a million beam routines in a row than to be up there and giving a speech," she said. Elsewhere on Wednesday night, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named best athlete - men's sports following an amazing NBA season that concluded with an NBA Championship and MVP title. "I want to thank the Thunder organization for allowing me to be me, be a basketball player and make my dreams come true," he said in his acceptance speech. The Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles also won best team at the awards ceremony for their decisive victory over the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this year, stopping the repeat Super Bowl champs from a three-peat. Women's sports shine at the ESPYS All night, women's sports were firmly in the spotlight with an array of longtime legends and up-and-comers alike. Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher took home the award for best breakthrough athlete and used the moment to reiterate her goal of empowering women. "My message stays the same: Strong is beautiful, strong is powerful. It's sexy. It's whatever you want it to be," Maher said in her acceptance speech. "I hope more girls can feel how I feel." Maher told "GMA" that the best moment for her has been "when girls come up to me and say I've changed them -- they look up to me." "I think that's the reason I do it and why I'm going to keep doing it," she continued. "That hopefully I'm changing their lives and helping them." WNBA legend Diana Taurasi and retired Olympic soccer star and World Cup Champion Alex Morgan were both honored with the Icon Award, giving each other their proverbial flowers by hailing the others' success and athletic ability. "Alex was always the player that you knew was gonna come up clutch. And I would always watch and say, 'I just wanna be like that. I wanna be Alex," Taurasi said onstage. "I think being called clutch is pretty awesome, but for Di, I feel like just the longevity of her career is what's so inspiring -- like the fact that she was on the top for 20 years, grinding every day, gold medal after gold medal, championship, All-Star, MVP," Morgan said in her acceptance speech. Once backstage, Taurasi told "GMA" that getting this recognition from peers and fans feels "amazing," adding that "we get to do something again in a team way -- that's what our careers were built on." "And to go up there together, to me I thought that was really cool and special [rather] than going up there alone," she said of sharing the moment with Morgan. Tennis star Sloane Stephens was honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award, telling "GMA" that "the real work is done all behind the scenes, and it's done when nobody knows, nobody's talking about it." "For the last 12 years of the Sloane Stephens Foundation, we've just been doing the work, put our heads down and trying to help as many kids and families as we possibly can," she said, referencing her namesake nonprofit organization, which aims to use "tennis and education to change the narrative of poverty, health inequity, and educational underdevelopment," according to its website. "It's even more impactful when you're doing it and nobody knows." Biles' teammate and one of the most decorated female gymnasts, Suni Lee, who overcame an unspecified kidney disease and returned to the Olympic podium at the summer games in Paris, won best comeback athlete on Wednesday night. Backstage after the big moment, she spoke to "GMA" about the state and future of women's sports. "I think that we are at an all time high, and it's so amazing to see," she said. "It can always get better from here, but it's just so amazing to see and for everybody to be engaged and actually care about women's sports." Powerful narratives off the field at the ESPYS Every year, the ESPYS are an emotional celebration of sports heroes outside traditional sports venues and places of competition. Cancer survivor and Penn State women's volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley was honored with this year's Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. "Cancer changed my life, but it didn't take it. It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit, and didn't take my team," the 45-year-old and two-time All-American said. The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, meanwhile, was presented to NBA luminary Oscar Robertson, the famed guard better known as "The Big O." "I accept the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, humbled by the many past recipients and the choices to demand fairness and perseverance persevere through adversity," he said in his acceptance speech. The Pat Tillman Award for Service went to Los Angeles County firefighters David Walters and Erin Regan, who were among the heroes and first responders who risked their lives to battle the brutal infernos that devastated the Southern California city earlier this year. Regan, a former soccer player herself, shared a poignant message in her acceptance speech. "We have this saying for this succession of responsibility in the fire service, and it gives me great honor to speak it to Pat Tillman, tonight: 'Rest easy, brother, we'll take it from here,'" she said. Rishin Tandon, Maegha Ramanathan and Ian Waite, the winners of the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award, joined King herself to take in the special moment with "GMA." "Each and every one of them are amazing people -- and each and every one of them have done miraculous things already and they're just getting started," King said backstage, referring to the three young winners. The trailblazing tennis icon and champion of women's sports also shouted out "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts, calling Roberts "a big part of it," and adding, "Thank you for being such a great role model for all of us, and I love you very much as a friend." ESPYS full winner list
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Simone Biles and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win top honors at ESPYS
LOS ANGELES — NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles won as best male and female athletes at the ESPYS on Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship last month while piling up hardware as league MVP and scoring champion. 'It's a dream come true and for dreams to come true it takes a village,' he said, thanking his wife, parents, brother and others. 'Those names probably don't mean much but to me they mean everything.' Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist, claimed the night's first award, best championship performance for her efforts at the Paris Games. She won three golds and a silver while helping the U.S. win its first team title since 2016. 'That was very unexpected, especially in a category of all men,' Biles said after kissing her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens. She beat out Stephen Curry, Freddie Freeman and Rory McIlroy. Biles' Olympic teammate, Suni Lee, won the best comeback award for overcoming two rare kidney diseases. She brought one of her doctors to the show. Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage from point guard Russell Westbrook. Robertson was president of the NBA Players' Association at the time of a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in 1970. It led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and eventually to higher salaries for all players. The 86-year-old Robertson, a 12-time All Star known as The Big O during his career, was the first Black president of any sports labor union. 'I knew there was work to do. There was a desperate need for players to have more career security, improved working conditions and other accommodations,' he said. 'In life, it's important to be persistent or as I have been called stubborn. Stubborn about what you believe in.' Comedian Shane Gillis' opening monologue as host of the show that honors the past year's top athletes and sports moments went over awkwardly. Early on, he called out various famous faces in the Dolby Theatre crowd, including retired WNBA star Diana Taurasi. Gillis said, 'Give it up for her' after calling her 'Deanna.' The camera showed an unsmiling Taurasi shaking her head. Gillis quickly caught his mistake, saying, 'My bad on that.' Gillis moved on to WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, who wasn't on hand. 'When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist fighting Black women,' he joked. While some in the audience laughed, others appeared uncomfortable. Gillis plowed on for 10 minutes, with jokes about President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, whose sex trafficking investigation has roiled the Justice Department and FBI. Gillis' performance drew mixed reviews on social media, with some calling him 'hilarious' and others 'cringey.' Gillis' initial joke about North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson drew a lot of laughs. 'A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bed time,' he said. 'They read 'The Very Horny Caterpillar,' 'The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill First' and of course the classic 'Goodnight Boobs.'' But the laughter lessened as Gillis continued. 'He won six Super Bowls. He's dating a hot 24 year old. Maybe if you guys won six Super Bowls you wouldn't be sitting next to a fat ugly dog wife.' Before closing it out, a smiling Gillis said, 'I see a lot of you don't like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about exactly how we all thought it was going to go. I don't know why this happened.' Taurasi and retired U.S. national women's soccer team star Alex Morgan shared the Icon Award in recognition of their careers and major impact on sports. The women touched their trophies together in a toast. 'Our mission has always been very similar,' Morgan said. 'We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it just as a generation before us did. We're standing on the shoulders of giants.' Taurasi, who retired in February after a 20-year basketball career, mentioned her parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina. She also had words for the next generation. 'Keep going, don't wait for someone to hand you anything, outwork them, be loyal, bring that damn fire every day,' she said. 'We're proof you can do it. We did it our way. No shortcuts, no apologies, and no regrets.' Former athletes David Walters and Erin Regan accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service, given to those who have served in a way that honors the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger. Walters, 37, earned a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a seven-time world championships medalist. He's now a Los Angeles city firefighter. Regan, 45, was a Wake Forest soccer player who spent one season in the pros before retiring to join the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Both Walters and Regan fought the deadly and destructive wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January. An emotional Katie Schumacher-Cawley accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance with her husband and children joining in the standing ovation. The Penn State women's volleyball coach was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in September. She continued coaching without missing a practice and became the first woman to guide a team to the NCAA national championship. 'Cancer changed my life but it didn't take it. It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit and it didn't take my team,' she said. Basketball player Cameron Boozer and track and field athlete Jane Hedengren were named the Gatorade Best Male and Female Players of the Year. Boozer will be playing at Duke in the fall, following in the collegiate footsteps of his father, Carlos, a former NBA All-Star. Hedengren will compete for BYU in her hometown of Provo, Utah.
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Simone Biles, Saquon Barkley clean up at ESPYs
Paris 2024 Olympics - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's All-Around Victory - August 01. Gold medallist Simone Biles of United States celebrates with her medal. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Simone Biles took home two ESPY Awards, including her second Best Female Athlete honor, on Wednesday night at ESPN's annual awards show surveying the world of sports. Biles also received the award for Best Championship Performance for her gold medal-winning showing in the Olympic gymnastics all-around event. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat out Shohei Ohtani, Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley for Best Male Athlete. But Barkley ended the night with three trophies, including the one for Best NFL Player. His Philadelphia Eagles were honored with the Best Team award, and the running back also won Best Play for his backwards hurdle of a Jacksonville Jaguars defender last fall. Comedian Shane Gillis hosted the program and delivered an uneven monologue that left him wishing he could take back certain jokes. Cracks at President Donald Trump, Aaron Rodgers and Bill Belichick's girlfriend got laughs, but he was caught mispronouncing Diana Taurasi's name and got an uncomfortable reaction for a line about Caitlin Clark's treatment in the WNBA. "When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting Black women," Gillis joked. At the end of his monologue, Gillis said, "Well, I see a lot of you don't like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about as well as we all thought it was going to go." Clark later received the Best WNBA Player award following her Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. It was Clark's third straight year with at least one ESPY, following back-to-back years winning in the Best College Athlete, Women's Sports category. Biles was named Best Female Athlete in 2017 following her dominant Olympic performance in Rio de Janeiro the year before. She received the honor once again after collecting gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games in the all-around, vault and team competitions. The Olympics had a wide impact on the list of ESPY winners. Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher won Best Breakthrough Athlete, a bit of an upset in a category that included No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg and Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes. Maher helped the U.S. take home bronze in rugby sevens at the Paris Games. Her personality and messages about body positivity helped vault her into the national consciousness, and she appeared on "Dancing with the Stars," finishing runner-up. She became the first rugby player to win an ESPY. And Biles' teammate, Suni Lee, won Best Comeback Athlete for overcoming two rare kidney diseases and winning three medals in Paris. NBA legend Oscar Robertson was recognized with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his work as the NBA Players Association president to establish free agency in the 1970s. Penn State volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, a cancer survivor, received the Jimmy V Award in memory of the late basketball coach Jim Valvano. Other winners included: Best College Athlete, Men's Sports: Cooper Flagg, Duke basketball Best College Athlete, Women's Sports: JuJu Watkins, Southern California basketball Best Athlete With a Disability: Noah Elliott, snowboarding Best Record-Breaking Performance: Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record Best NFL Player: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers Best NHL Player: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers Best NBA Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder Best WNBA Player: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever Best Soccer Player: Christian Pulisic, AC Milan, U.S. men's national team Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1 Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler Best Boxer: Katie Taylor Best UFC Fighter: Merab Dvalishvili Best Tennis Player: Coco Gauff Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Sloane Stephens —Reuters
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Simone Biles, Suni Lee lead Olympians to win ESPYs
Simone Biles won two ESPYs, including best female athlete, while fellow Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Suni Lee earned the best comeback award. Biles became the first two-time best female athlete recipient since Ronda Rousey in 2014-15 after also taking the honor in 2017. Biles won the 2025 best female athlete over fellow nominees who also earned 2024 Olympic titles: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas in track and field and basketball player A'ja Wilson. Biles also won best championship performance after taking three gold medals in Paris. 'My sincere gratitude, appreciation and love to all of you who have stood with me on this magical journey,' said Biles, who won over Stephen Curry, Rory McIlroy and Freddie Freeman. 'All the highs, lows, twists and turns along the way. Six-year-old me, who first started tumbling on my parents' sofa in the living room, is floored to be standing before you right now.' Lee was named best comeback athlete after winning Olympic team gold and all-around and uneven bars bronze, one year after being diagnosed with two kidney diseases. 'When I was diagnosed with two rare kidney diseases, I was told I'd never compete again, but I refused to believe that,' she said. 'There were days where I felt scared, defeated and alone, but I always found strength around me.' The other comeback nominees were also Olympians: Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, soccer player Mallory Swanson and hockey player Gabriel Landeskog. Other Olympians to win ESPY awards included Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (best male athlete, best NBA player), rugby sevens player Ilona Maher (breakthrough athlete), hockey player Alex Ovechkin (record-breaking performance), Scottie Scheffler (golfer), Coco Gauff (tennis player), Katie Taylor (boxer), tennis player Sloane Stephens (Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award) and 1960 Olympic gold medalist basketball player Oscar Robertson (Arthur Ashe Award for Courage). Paralympic snowboarding gold medalist Noah Elliott won best athlete with a disability. David Walters, a 2008 Olympic swimming relay gold medalist, and former professional soccer player Erin Regan won the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Walters, a Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter, and Regan, a Los Angeles County Fire firefighter-paramedic, were among those who fought the Southern California wildfires in January. Alex Morgan and Diana Taurasi, Olympic gold medalists who retired in the last year, shared an icon award. A full list of ESPY winners and nominees is here. Nick Zaccardi,
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Simone Biles, Saquon Barkley clean up at ESPYs
HOLLYWOOD: Simone Biles took home two ESPY Awards, including her second Best Female Athlete honor, on Wednesday night at ESPN's annual awards show surveying the world of sports. Biles also received the award for Best Championship Performance for her gold medal-winning showing in the Olympic gymnastics all-around event. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat out Shohei Ohtani, Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley for Best Male Athlete. But Barkley ended the night with three trophies, including the one for Best NFL Player. His Philadelphia Eagles were honored with the Best Team award, and the running back also won Best Play for his backwards hurdle of a Jacksonville Jaguars defender last fall. Comedian Shane Gillis hosted the program and delivered an uneven monologue that left him wishing he could take back certain jokes. Cracks at President Donald Trump, Aaron Rodgers and Bill Belichick's girlfriend got laughs, but he was caught mispronouncing Diana Taurasi's name and got an uncomfortable reaction for a line about Caitlin Clark's treatment in the WNBA. "When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting Black women," Gillis joked. At the end of his monologue, Gillis said, "Well, I see a lot of you don't like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about as well as we all thought it was going to go." Clark later received the Best WNBA Player award following her Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. It was Clark's third straight year with at least one ESPY, following back-to-back years winning in the Best College Athlete, Women's Sports category. Biles was named Best Female Athlete in 2017 following her dominant Olympic performance in Rio de Janeiro the year before. She received the honor once again after collecting gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games in the all-around, vault and team competitions. The Olympics had a wide impact on the list of ESPY winners. Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher won Best Breakthrough Athlete, a bit of an upset in a category that included No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg and Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes. Maher helped the US take home bronze in rugby sevens at the Paris Games. Her personality and messages about body positivity helped vault her into the national consciousness, and she appeared on "Dancing with the Stars," finishing runner-up. She became the first rugby player to win an ESPY. And Biles' teammate, Suni Lee, won Best Comeback Athlete for overcoming two rare kidney diseases and winning three medals in Paris. NBA legend Oscar Robertson was recognised with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his work as the NBA Players Association president to establish free agency in the 1970s. Penn State volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, a cancer survivor, received the Jimmy V Award in memory of the late basketball coach Jim Valvano. Other winners included: Best College Athlete, Men's Sports: Cooper Flagg, Duke basketball; Best College Athlete, Women's Sports: JuJu Watkins, Southern California basketball; Best Athlete With a Disability: Noah Elliott, snowboarding; Best Record-Breaking Performance: Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's all- time goals record; Best NFL Player: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles; Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers; Best NHL Player: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers; Best NBA Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder; Best WNBA Player: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever; Best Soccer Player: Christian Pulisic, AC Milan, US men's national team; Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1 Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler; Best Boxer: Katie Taylor; Best UFC Fighter: Merab Dvalishvili; Best Tennis Player: Coco Gauff; Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Sloane Stephens.- REUTERS
