Ariya Boston, South Carolina, was awarded the WBCA Player of the Year at a press conference at the Final Four at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Thursday, March 31, 2022.
tglantz@thestate.com
South Carolina women’s basketball star Alley Boston issued the following statement on Wednesday following being a candidate but not invited to ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards show.
Boston said in her statement that the National Sports Network invited her only after social media awareness following a public revelation that she had not initially received the invitation.
“Being nominated for an ESPY this year meant the world for me and my family. It’s painful to know that they don’t air the category even though it aired last year, but I participated. I didn’t mean to … It’s even more painful for social media to invite me for the first time in the wind after seeing the ESPN course change. In honor of that, I declined.
“I’m used to this. It’s another moment when black women’s contempt and erasure are wiped out as” mistakes “or” oversights. ” Fifty years after Title IX, another excuse for why this milestone and achievement is not a “priority”.
“To all black girls and all black women: No one can take away what God has in the story for us. You are important. You are precious. You are prioritized. You are seen and you are loved — don’t let others tell you. “
The ESPY ESPN broadcast will air on Wednesday night from the 3,400-seat Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Boston was nominated for the “Best College Athletes, Women’s Sports” award, but the winners were announced at the “ESPY” “Preview Show” on Tuesday. Oklahoma Softball Jocelyn Alo I won the honor.
In a statement to the state on Monday, ESPN said the awards that weren’t presented during the show’s live broadcast took into account that the athlete had received an invitation to an event in Los Angeles.
“We have the utmost respect for Allie Boston, Dawn Staley and South Carolina Gamecock,” ESPN said in a statement. “Due to both COVID restrictions and the new venue, which has far fewer seats than previous shows, the 2022 ESPY prioritized the invitation of athletes to focus on specific awards distributed during the broadcast. .. “
Dawn Staley, head coach of women’s basketball at the University of South Carolina, helped Boston weigh on social media on Sunday night.
“Really … Who decided that it was a great idea not to invite @ MarchMadnessWBB NPOY DPOY in @ espn @ ESPYS’s room … No one could see the uproar caused by this? Room composition? There’s definitely something wrong with … the fight continues … # WBBSTANDUP, “Staley said in a Twitter post.
Boston’s 2021-22 season has been a long time ago. During the Gamecocks National Championship season, South Carolina Forward was unanimously named National Player of the Year. Nice Miss Defensive Player of the Year; SEC Player of the Year; SEC Defensive Player of the Year; and the best player in the NCAA tournament.
Boston averaged 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, with the team’s highest 90 blocks and the team’s highest 77% free throw rate.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 12:27 PM.
Sports Director, Columbia, South Carolina. A 1997 graduate of the University of South Carolina, who joined the state in October 2007. I am part of APSE’s award-winning sports staff, including work at South Carolina Gamecock and Clemson Tigers. Previously worked at (Myrtle Beach) Sun News and Gaston (North Carolina) Gazette.
