Sport in Society celebrates sports greats at annual gala
(11-2-05) BOSTON, Mass. - Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society is proud to host the True Heroes of Sport Awards Gala on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston, MA honoring athletes for their service to the New England community off the field. Sport in Society is honored to announce C. Vivian Stringer will be this year's Hall of Fame Inductee. Tim Wakefield will be presented with the Lenny Zakim New England Hero Award, while Joan Benoit Samuelson will receive the Selma Black New England Hero Award. The Dick Schaap Excellence in Sports Journalism Awards will be presented to The Indianapolis Star and HBO. Host of ESPN's Outside the Lines, Bob Ley will emcee the event.
"This year's honorees are representative of our values and provide a wonderful example for others to emulate as we begin our next 20 years," said Sport in Society Director Peter Roby. "We are extremely proud to honor a group of people so dedicated to the betterment of society through sport."
C. Vivian Stringer, head women's basketball coach and mentor at Rutgers University, is the Hall of Fame Inductee. In her 30 years of coaching, her teams have made 17 appearances in the last 23 NCAA Tournaments and Stringer is one of only two coaches in both men's and women's basketball to lead three different programs to the NCAA Final Four. She also served as an assistant coach for the 2004 U.S Olympic women's basketball team, who won the gold medal in Athens, Greece.
The Sport in Society Hall of Fame was established in 1994 to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to society through their participation in sport. This fall, Stringer will join the ranks of Arthur Ashe, Red Auerbach, and Mohammed Ali when she is inducted at the annual True Heroes of Sport Awards Gala. This year's event is made possible by our generous sponsors the Behrakis Foundation, Delphi Management, the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Bruins, Comcast, ESPN, and TD Bank North.
Receiving the Lenny Zakim New England Hero Award, Wakefield isn't throwing any curve balls when it comes to generosity and community awareness. He has enjoyed a long career with the World Champion Red Sox and, in turn, Boston has benefited from the many good works of the star pitcher. As one of the most community minded players in Major League Baseball, he has generously contributed his time and financial resources to raise money and awareness for the Wakefield Warriors program, which Wakefield created in 1998, that enables patients from the Franciscan Hospital for Children to watch batting practice and visit with him before all Tuesday home games.
Olympic gold medal marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson knows the road to success is paved with hard work. Her dedication to the community makes it an honor for Sport in Society to present her with the Selma Black New England Hero Award. Samuelson won the Boston Marathon in '73, '79 and '83 and Olympic gold in '84. She continues to run, compete in master's competitions, and serve of the boards of directors for several nonprofit organizations. She has worked tirelessly in Maine on behalf of the Samantha Smith Foundation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics, Multiple Sclerosis, the Maine Women's Fund, and the Governor's Executive Council on Communities for Children. In December 2004, Samuelson was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
This year the Dick Schaap Excellence in Sports Journalism Awards will honor two organizations that exemplify journalistic achievements that enhance our understanding of the impact of sport on our culture the Indianapolis Star and HBO. The Indianapolis Star's Tracy Dodds and Ted Green will accept the award for their work on "Champions for Change" the story of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High School's basketball team that was a source of pride for the entire community in a time of turmoil. HBO's George Roy will accept the award for his work on "Hitler's Pawn", a documentary retelling of Hitler's exploitation of a talented Jewish athlete in the 1936 Olympic Games.
About Sport in Society: The vision for the Center for the Study of Sport in Society is to utilize the power and appeal of sport to create a just world by eliminating discrimination, hate and violence, while developing lasting solutions, and promoting healthy development and social responsibility.
We are committed to the idea that the sports community can, and should, take a lead role in bringing about positive social change. The Center works locally, nationally and globally to identify and address social problems in sport and in society. We conduct research, develop programs that offer solutions, and educate and advocate on the emerging issues.
About Sport in Society
The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University is one of the world�s leading social justice organizations that use sport to create social change both nationally and internationally. The flagship organization located in the heart of Boston, Mass. was founded in 1984 by Dr. Richard Lapchick and touts branches in Baltimore, Md. and Phoenix, Ariz. Through research, education, and advocacy the center promotes physical activity, health, violence prevention, and diversity among young people and college and professional athletes. Sport in Society�s innovative programs are all staffed by former college or professional athletes and have been awarded America�s most successful violence prevention program by Lou Harris, the Peter F. Ducker Award as the most innovative non-profit program in the social sector, and have been cited as the National Crime Prevention Council�s 50 Best Strategies to Prevent Violent Domestic Crimes. For more information please visit http://www.sportinsociety.org.
