Richard Deitsch of The Athletic called the presentation of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to the survivors of sexual assault at the hands of Michigan State and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar “the most powerful moment in the 25-year history of the ESPY Awards”. Actress Jennifer Garner introduced and narrated a short film in which multiple survivors detailed their abuse and subsequent testimony before 141 of them came on stage to accept the award in person.
Deitsch doesn’t overestimate one bit how powerful the moment was. If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch it here.
In a new “Media Circus” column at The Athletic, Deitsch and ESPYs producer Maura Mandt talked about how the moment came together. It was not only an emotional one, but one that Deitsch speculates was quite expensive.
She would not say how much the segment cost, but industry sources told The Athletic that ESPN likely spent about $1 million all told. All of the Nassar survivors, including ones not on the stage, were given a custom bracelet from ESPN with the word “Courage” inscribed on the top and the date of the ESPYs.
Mandt said that ESPN’s willingness to work with her staff is what made the event possible, because there was so much to consider in the way of what these women’s needs would be once they got to Los Angeles for the ceremony.
When we had the number we tried to provide as much thought as we could to how to make this experience one that would be positive. We had everything from hair and makeup to crisis counselors to therapy dogs standing by to offer support. We had an entire operation for just this segment, with about 50-60 people just working on this. One thing I want to add is the support that ESPN gave to us in doing this. No matter what the ask was from us — and there were many —(executive vice president of content) Connor Schell, Allison Overholt (an ESPN vice president and editor of ESPN The Magazine and (ESPN President) Jimmy Pitaro never hesitated to put doing the right thing over cost.
How do you pull of a segment where 142 different people would be on stage? Mandt told Deitsch that there was a lot of practice.
We rehearsed with 141 stand-ins for three hours on Tuesday night, then we had all the survivors come and ran through it three times with them and (presenter) Jennifer Garner. We then showed them the piece. It was one of the most special moments in my career. I was so honored and humbled to speak to these survivors. They were incredibly gracious and kind. They are remarkable – each and every one. And to realize that they represent so many more.
The full interview can be found here.
