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Luxe Celebrity Review

Watch 141 Larry Nassar Survivors Receive Arthur Ashe Award at the 2018 ESPYs

Author

Ava Arnold

Updated on March 28, 2026

The 2018 ESPY awards, the annual broadcast that honors athletic achievement, took a powerfully emotional turn when it came time to hand out the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, which went to the survivors who bravely spoke out against Larry Nassar, the doctor who earlier this year was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse and will be spending the rest of his life in prison. During his two trials, more than 100 young women gave powerful victim statements (or had statements read on their behalf) about how his abuse affected their lives.

During Wednesday's ceremony, Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, former Michigan State softball player Tiffany Thomas Lopez, and gymnast Sarah Klein, speaking out for the first time tonight, accepted the award.

"We’re about to tell you a story that is difficult to hear," said Jennifer Garner, introducing the award. "A story about what can happen in sports goes terribly wrong…. We have to hear it…to make sure it never happens again."

"Abuse. Silence. Victory. Abuse. Silence. Victory. The cycle was repeated for generations," Garner continued in a voiceover of a moving short film featuring many of the women.

All together, 141 women—including Klein, Raisman, and Thomas-Lopez—came to the stage as the video concluded, creating an image that will not easily be forgotten.

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"It is such a privilege to stand up here with my sister survivors as we represent hundreds more who are not with us tonight," Klein said. "Make no mistake, we are here on this stage to present an image for the world to see, a portrait of survival, a new vision of courage." And she did not hold back when it came to calling out the United States Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, and Michigan State University, saying they placed "money and medals above the safety of child athletes."