Jimmy V Award Winner Dick Vitale Gives Powerful Speech at 2022 ESPYs: Cancer ‘Doesn’t Discriminate’

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JULY 20: Dick Vitale attends the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Momodu Mansaray/WireImage)

Momodu Mansaray/WireImage

Dick Vitale accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance on Wednesday night at the 2022 ESPY Awards.

The 83-year-old college basketball announcer, who has been open about his cancer battle, was presented with the award by Mad Men actor John Hamm.

Vitale spent much of his speech praising the Jimmy V Foundation, which funds research into finding a cure for cancer.

“No kid or child should be going through chemo or radiation,” Vitale said.

“[Cancer] doesn’t discriminate, it comes after all,” he later added. “It doesn’t matter race or religion, it will bring you to your knees. There’s only one way to beat it, my friends, we have to raise dollars and give oncologists a fighting chance.”

Vitale ended his speech with a message to “keep chasing your dreams, keep chasing your goals.”

“Just remember: perseverance, plus passion, plus pride, equals ‘win’ in the game of life,” he continued.

RELATED: 5 of the Best ESPY Awards Speeches of All Time

According to ESPN, the Jimmy V Award is given to a “deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination.”

In October 2021, Vitale wrote an essay for ESPN’s Front Row announcing he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Two months prior, Vitale revealed he had been battling melanoma but had since been cleared of the skin disease.

Before his lymphoma diagnosis, doctors thought he might have bile duct cancer, which would have required far more intensive surgery, he told the outlet. However, they later determined that he had precancerous dysplasia in his throat, a growth on his vocal cords that could become cancerous if left untreated.

The diagnosis was devastating for the Hall of Fame broadcaster, particularly when his doctor said it could have been avoided if he had scheduled regular checkups.

RELATED: Basketball Announcer Dick Vitale Emotional During TV Return amid Cancer Battle: ‘Didn’t Want to Cry’

Vitale, who spent over 40 years of his career on the ESPN airwaves as he commentated hundreds of basketball games for the network, was instructed to go three months without talking. He needed to save his vocal cords and prevent the growths from getting larger and said those months were some of the toughest of his life. He also had to undergo months of chemotherapy to fight the cancer.

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On April 14, Vitale shared on Twitter that he was officially cancer-free as of his last chemotherapy appointment.

“It was RING THE BELL TIME!” he tweeted. “Yes it was a tough 7 months, but it was super hearing Dr Brown @SMHCS say that I have zero cancer currently. I was inspired daily by the famous words of my late buddy Jimmy V ‘Don’t Give up DON’T EVER GIVE UP!'”

Dick Vitale

Ethan Miller/Getty Dick Vitale

Vitale also expressed his gratitude when he was told he was this year’s recipient of the Jimmy V Award, named for the late Jim Valvano, his former broadcast partner at ESPN, whom he quoted in his tweet.

“When I received the call from [ESPN president] Jimmy Pitaro about receiving this award, I was absolutely blown away,” he said in a statement to ESPN.

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“I remember that day almost 30 years ago, when I stood on stage at the first ESPYS, introduced Jimmy V, and witnessed him give that incredible speech we all remember,” he added. “I reflected on his speech many times during my seven-month battle — ‘don’t give up, don’t ever give up Dickie V’ — and I remembered my mother and father, who taught me never to believe in ‘can’t’. Jimmy V was special and his legacy lives on. I am so grateful to receive this tremendous award in his honor.”

The ESPY Awards, hosted by four-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry, is airing live Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.