——Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that the “ESPYs” show will be held at the 3,400-seat Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
On Sunday night, South Carolina superstar Aaliyah Boston received an invitation to ESPN’s annual awards show, “The ESPYs,” despite being nominated for an award honoring the best female sports collegiate athlete. Twitter went up in flames when the Internet discovered that it had not received
South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley led the charges on behalf of Boston.
“Really….who in the @espn @ESPYS room decided it was a great idea not to invite @MarchMadnessWBB NPOY DPOY….no one could see the commotion this would cause There is definitely something wrong with the configuration of the room…the battle continues….#WBBSTANDUP.
On Monday, ESPN told the state that the main reason Boston didn’t receive the invitation was the announcement of the “Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports” award aired during the live broadcast of “ESPYs” at 8 p.m. He said it was because he wouldn’t. Wednesday.
ESPN said in a statement, “We have the utmost respect for Aaliyah Boston, Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks.” Due to this, “The 2022 ESPYs” prioritized athlete invites to focus on specific awards to be handed out during the broadcast. ”
Some award presentations will not be shown during Wednesday’s “ESPYs” broadcast. For example, the Men’s and Women’s College Player of the Year awards will be announced one day early at ESPN’s Tuesday 7 p.m. event “Preview Show.”
Boston was nominated for individual women’s college athletic awards, along with Jerrin Howell (Florida State soccer), Jocelyn Arro (Oklahoma softball) and Charlotte North (Boston College lacrosse).
The 2022 ESPYs will take place at the 3,400-seat Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Aro will be the only attendee, as he was also nominated for Best Team and Best Record-Breaking Performance awards. Both other awards will be featured live on Wednesday.
This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 5:14 PM.
Michael Sauls is the state’s Summer Sports Intern. He is an award-winning student journalist who attended the University of South Carolina and is the managing editor of The Daily Gamecock.
