ESPY 2016 Awards: Host John Cena Rips Athletes, TNT’s Craig Sager Gives Inspirational Speech, And More

WWE Superstar and actor John Cena hosted the 2016 ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, opening with a monologue filled with wisecracks and jokes about major athletes.

ESPY 2016 Awards: Host John Cena Rips Athletes

ESPN’s flagship awards show aired live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in L.A.

Grammy winner Justin Timberlake, Vice President Joe Biden, Emmy winner Bryan Cranston, and former Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks were among the presenters, while beloved TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager was honored with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award.

The ceremony began with a somber and powerful monologue delivered by NBA players Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who called for a stand for social change following the recent police shootings of black men.

Soon after the recent deadly shootings of Philando Castile in Dallas, Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Anthony posted an Instagram plea using an iconic June 4, 1967, photo of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and others from what is known as the Ali Summit. That was the Cleveland news conference in which Ali’s fellow athletes flanked him to show support as he announced his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War.

“There’s NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore,” he wrote in his caption. “Those days are long gone.”

The foursome then went on to denounce the violence, injustice and racial profiling that has permeated the nation.

Former President Bill Clinton took to Twitter to express how inspired he was by the basketball stars’ words, which also resonated with many others.

Cena, 39, then followed up with a hilarious and biting monologue of his own. Right off the batt, he poked fun at the NBA draft, the 2016 Rio Olympics and why he hosted, “instead of someone else like Kevin Hart.”

Cena explained that the WWE is scripted and so there’s a lot of crossover with professional sports. For example, “Cleveland won something,” he says, and adds that the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship must have been scripted, because there’s no way that actually happened.

The WWE star also commented on Odell Beckham Jr.’s look, Peyton Manning’s love story with the NFL, and Tim Duncan‘s retirement (“He announces it in the middle of the night in the off-season, what a diva right?”), among countless other sports stars.

Cena also blasted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, saying: “The one place the WWE has you beat, the one thing we have that you don’t: Vince McMahon. A maniacal billionaire pulling the strings behind the scenes who uses every trick in the book to manipulate things to his advantage, any way he can. That is something that is way too crazy for real sports.”

The screen behind Cena then flashed a picture of Goodell.

Cena finished by saying, “Or maybe we have more in common than you think.”

Goodell’s reputation for handling scandals in the NFL– the Deflate-gate controversy among the most recent ones– has been shaky over the past few years.

Biden presented Sager with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for his strength and determination while fighting leukemia for nearly 18 months.

“I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the marrow out of life as life sucks the marrow out of me,” Sager said in his speech.

Sager, who has worked for Turner Sports for 34 years, missed 11 months while undergoing treatment for leukemia and a bone marrow transplant from his son before returning to TNT’s NBA coverage in March 2015. But he revealed in an interview with HBO in April that his cancer was no longer in remission.

The Batavia native threw out the first pitch at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on June 1 as part of “Conquer Cancer Day” festivities.

Timberlake presented the Icon Awards, three of the biggest awards of the night, to Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach. 

See the full list of nominees below, with winners in bold:

BEST MALE ATHLETE
Stephen Curry
Cam Newton
Bryce Harper
LeBron James (WINNER)

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Breanna Stewart (WINNER)
Elena Delle Donne
Katie Ledecky
Simone Biles

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Von Miller – Super Bowl
Carli Lloyd – World Cup Final
Sidney Crosby – Stanley Cup Playoffs
LeBron James – NBA Finals (WINNER)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Jake Arrieta (WINNER)
Conor McGregor
Chloe Kim
Karl-Anthony Towns

Also Read: WWE Superstar John Cena to Host 2016 ESPYS

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Stephen Curry – single season three-pointers made (WINNER)
Geno Auriemma – most NCAA basketball titles in D1 history (11)
Christian McCaffery – single season NCAAF all-purpose yards

BEST UPSET
Holly Holm knocks out Ronda Rousey – UFC (WINNER)
Middle Tennessee over Michigan State – Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
Roberta Vinci over Serena Williams – US Open

BEST GAME
Villanova vs. North Carolina – Men’s NCAA Basketball Final
Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers – NFL Divisional Round
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – NBA Finals Game 7 (WINNER)

BEST PLAY (16 NOMINEES VOTED BRACKET-STYLE)
Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary (WINNER) vs. 16. Crazy 66-yard Ole Miss’ TD
Kris Jenkins buzzer beater vs. 15. Connor McDavid goal
Michigan St punt block TD vs. 14. Stanford trick play w/ circus catch
LeBron Game 7 block vs. 13. Louis Oosthuizen hole-in-one off of ball
Steph Curry 38-foot game-winner vs. 12. Army softball player leaps over tag
Holly Holm knockout of Ronda Rousey vs. 11. Bartolo Colon first home run
Tiffany Howard HR robbery WCWS vs. 10. Josh Donaldson diving into stands
Jairo Samerio scores on scissor-kick ground vs. 9. Dele Alli juggling goal for Tottenham

BEST TEAM
Cleveland Cavaliers (WINNER)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kansas City Royals
Denver Broncos
Alabama Crimson Tide
UConn Huskies
Villanova Wildcats

BEST COACH/MANAGER
Ned Yost – Kansas City Royals
Geno Auriemma – UConn Huskies
Jay Wright – Villanova Wildcats
Nick Saban – Alabama Crimson Tide
Tyronn Lue – Cleveland Cavaliers (WINNER)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE
Cristiano Ronaldo (WINNER)
Novak Djokovic
Lydia Ko
Luis Suarez
Canelo Alvarez

BEST NFL PLAYER
Cam Newton (WINNER)
Tom Brady
JJ Watt
Antonio Brown
Julio Jones

BEST MLB PLAYER
Bryce Harper (WINNER)
Josh Donaldson
Jake Arrieta
Mike Trout
Clayton Kershaw

BEST NHL PLAYER
Patrick Kane
Alex Ovechkin
Sidney Crosby (WINNER)
Joe Pavelski
Braden Holtby

BEST DRIVER
Kyle Busch (WINNER)
Lewis Hamilton
Erica Enders-Stevens
Scott Dixon
Alexander Rossi

BEST NBA PLAYER
Stephen Curry
Kawhi Leonard
LeBron James (WINNER)
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook

BEST WNBA PLAYER
Elena Delle Donne
Maya Moore (WINNER)
Angel McCoughtry
Tina Charles
DeWanna Bonner

BEST FIGHTER
Conor McGregor (WINNER)
Gennady Golovkin
Canelo Alvarez
Robbie Lawler
Roman Gonzalez

BEST MALE GOLFER
Jason Day
Dustin Johnson
Danny Willett
Jordan Spieth (WINNER)

BEST FEMALE GOLFER
Lydia Ko (WINNER)
Inbee Park
Brooke Henderson
Ariya Jutanugarn

BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER
Novak Djokovic (WINNER)
Andy Murray
Roger Federer

BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER
Angelique Kerber
Flavia Pennetta
Serena Williams (WINNER)
Garbine Muguruza

BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Derrick Henry
Buddy Hield (WINNER)
Jordan Morris
Jarrion Lawson
Alex Dieringer

BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Breanna Stewart (WINNER)
Raquel Rodriguez
Samantha Bricio
Taylor Cummings
Sierra Romero

Also Read: Craig Sager to Be Honored With Jimmy V Perseverance Award at 2016 ESPYS

BEST MALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
Ryan Dungey (WINNER)
Gus Kenworthy
Nyjah Huston
Pedro Barros
Mark McMorris

BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
Chloe Kim
Keala Kennelly
Jamie Anderson (WINNER)
Carissa Moore

BEST JOCKEY
Mario Gutierrez (WINNER)
Kent Desormeaux
Javier Castellano
Irad Ortiz Jr.

BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Richard Browne (WINNER)
Joe Berenyi
Aaron Fotheringham
Nikko Landeros
Brad Snyder

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Tatyana McFadden (WINNER)
Heather Erickson
Oksana Masters
Shawn Morelli

BEST BOWLER
Jason Belmonte (WINNER)
Jesper Svensson
Ryan Ciminelli
Anthony Simonsen

BEST MLS PLAYER
Sebastian Giovinco (WINNER)
Kei Kamara
Laurent Ciman
Luis Robles

Special Awards

JIMMY V PERSEVERANCE AWARD
Craig Sager

ARTHUR ASHE AWARD FOR COURAGE
Zaevion Dobson

PAT TILLMAN AWARD FOR SERVICE
Sergeant Elizabeth Marks

BEST MOMENT
Cleveland Cavaliers win city’s first major title in over 50 years

BEST COMEBACK PLAYER
Eric Berry

ICON AWARD
Kobe Bryant
Peyton Manning
Abby Wambach

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 13: Host John Cena speaks onstage during the 2016 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena