WWE Star Nominated For The Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award For Second Year In A Row

By Marc Middleton

WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil has been nominated as a finalist for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Titus, a WWE Global Ambassador who received the 2020 Warrior Award at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this year, was also a finalist for the same Ali award in 2020.

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O'Neil has been nominated along with Anthony Rizzo of MLB's Chicago Cubs, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, and Layshia Clarendon of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

Titus tweeted on the nomination and wrote, "MAJOR NEWS [smiling face with sunglasses emoji] I'm honored to be named as a finalist for the 2021 Muhammad Ali #SportsHumanitarian Award by @espn and @ESPNCitizenship! #ESPY Congrats to my fellow nominees: @ARizzo44, @LaurentDTardif and @LayshiaC"

The 7th annual Sports Humanitarian Awards will take place on Monday, July 12 at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City. A 90-minute TV special will air on Saturday, July 24 at 2pm ET on ABC. Actor Taye Diggs will host the awards, while Grammy-nominated rapper Cordae will perform.

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The winner of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award will be announced during The 2021 ESPYS from ESPN on Saturday, July 10, with all finalists being featured during The Sports Humanitarian Awards. As noted at this link, WWE will also have a category at The ESPYS this year

WWE is a sponsor of The 7th annual Sports Humanitarian Awards this year, along with MLB, MLS, NBA, WNBA, NFL, NHL, PGA Tour, UFC, and USTA.

The Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award is presented by Dove Men+Care this year, and is "given to an athlete whose continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a measured positive impact on their community through sports. The candidate must embrace the core principles that Muhammad Ali embodied so well, including confidence, conviction, dedication, giving and respect. The winner will be able to direct a $100,000 grant from ESPN to the qualified charity related to the award-winning humanitarian efforts. The finalists will be able to direct a $25,000 grant to the charity related to their award-winning efforts."

The following was written by Titus in the press release issued to us today:

"WWE Global Ambassador Titus O'Neil is a positive force as a father, philanthropist and champion of good. A product of sexual assault, O'Neil grew up in poverty, was bullied by others, constantly in trouble for fighting and labeled a "bad kid." Because of the people who invested in changing the trajectory of his life, O'Neil is dedicated to giving back to the community that supported him and creating positive changes for those in need. In an unprecedented year faced with hardships due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, O'Neil delivered hundreds of healthy food boxes to assist families, veterans and senior citizens. O'Neil also surprised five families in need with a new car and provided leadership to create food baskets and secure toys for more than 40,000 families during the holiday season. Additionally, in June 2020, he organized a multicultural Love Walk in Tampa to unite the community. Due to his outstanding commitment, O'Neil was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the Warrior Award recipient, an award given to an individual who exhibits unwavering strength and perseverance and who lives life with courage and compassion."

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Stay tuned for more.

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