Aliyah Boston said no to ESPN.
The South Carolina women’s basketball star, who won a national championship and was unanimously named National Player of the Year and Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2022, has declined an invitation from the network to perform at the ESPY Awards, its annual summer showcase ceremony, where top athletes are awarded, teams and moments from the sports year.
Boston declined the invitation after not originally being among the nominated athletes invited to the ceremony scheduled for Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Boston: “Another moment” of “disrespect”
She addressed her decision a statement released on Wednesday morning.
“To be nominated for an ESPY this year meant the world to me and my family,” Boston wrote. “Although it hurt to find out they wouldn’t be televising the category even though it was televised last year and had no intention of me participating. …it hurt more to see ESPN change course and only invite me after social media realized the lack of it, so I respectfully declined.
“I’m used to it. It’s just another moment in which the disrespect and obliteration of black women is dismissed as a “mistake” or an “oversight.” Another excuse for why our milestones and achievements aren’t a “priority” this time, even now, 50 years after Title IX.
“To every black girl and woman, no one can take away from us what God has in store for us. You are important. You are valuable. You are a priority. You will be seen and you will be LOVED – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Why wasn’t Boston originally invited?
Boston is nominated for the Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports category, along with Florida State soccer player Jaelin Howell, Oklahoma softball player Jocelyn Alo, and Boston College lacrosse player Charlotte North. Alo was invited as a nominee in the Best Team and Best Record Performance categories, but the other three nominees, including Boston, were not initially invited. Neither did the nominees in the corresponding category of men’s sports.
The story goes on
A source involved with the show told Yahoo Sports’ Cassandra Negley on Monday that Wednesday’s ceremony will be held amid COVID-19 capacity restrictions and that only nominees eligible for awards presented during the main broadcast have received invitations. The men’s and women’s collegiate athlete winners were to be announced in a separate ceremony.
Aliyah Boston will not be attending ESPN’s ESPYs ceremony. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Wednesday’s ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theater with a listed seating capacity of 3,400. It has hosted the Academy Awards since 2001. Last year’s ESPYs ceremony, which broadcast the College Athlete Awards, was held in New York at The Rooftop at Pier 17, which also has a capacity of 3,400. It’s not clear if Wednesday’s ceremony at the Dolby Theater will cap attendance below capacity.
Paige Bueckers was invited for the same award last year
UConn basketball player Paige Bueckers won the award for Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports last year and spoke about the lack of media coverage for black athletes and award winners.
“With the life I have now as a white woman running a black-run sport and partying here, I want to shine a light on black women,” Buckers said. “They don’t get the media coverage they deserve.”
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley slammed ESPN on Twitter Sunday for not inviting Boston.
Staley’s tweet sparked a social media campaign that joined her to criticize the network, which apparently prompted ESPN to extend the Boston invitation, which she ultimately declined.