Steve Gleason's Ashe Award at the ESPYs Left Everyone Watching in Tears

The ESPYs are a great and sometimes slightly silly excuse to celebrate the best from a given year in sports. Sometimes, though, they can also deliver profound moments or speeches. That was the case when 47-year-old Steve Gleason took the stage to accept the Arthur Ashe Award.

The award is given to an athlete who makes a huge impact beyond their sport and fights for what they believe in. Following the speech, many saw that Steve was now in a wheelchair and wanted to know what happened to him. Here's what we know.

Steve spent eight years in the NFL as a safety before retiring in 2008. After his retirement, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, and he's been dealing with the disease for the last 13 years. He established a nonprofit, Team Gleason, which advocates for people with ALS and helps them to live purposeful lives. He also advocated for The Steve Gleason Act, which ensures that those with ALS have access to communications devices that they need.

“Over the past 13 years, I’ve been documenting our journey with ALS. My aim has always been to see if we can discover peace, freedom, and a love of life, even in the midst of extreme adversity,” Steve said in a statement on Thursday. “Being recognized at The 2024 ESPYS is not just an honor, but a powerful platform to further help and serve others.”

Steve released his memoir earlier this year, and in 2019, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for helping to raise awareness of ALS. His journey was also documented in the documentary Gleason, which is a frank look at what the disease does, and how Steve has made it his life's purpose to fight back. While football may have defined the early part of his life, it's clear that ALS advocacy is now his primary focus.

Steve's advocacy has raised awareness of ALS more generally, but as Steve's own website makes clear, he's most proud of the children he's been able to raise in the years since he was first diagnosed.

"The most significant accomplishment for Steve and Michel since Steve’s diagnosis was their decision to have children. In November 2011, Rivers Gleason was born and their daughter, Gray, was born in 2018," the website explains.

"When Steve was diagnosed, he famously said there will be 'No White Flags,'" the explanation continues. "This has become the Team Gleason mantra, but it is most important when applied to Steve as a father. No goal is more important to Steve and Michel than finding a solution for ALS, so they can share many, many years together and as parents to Rivers and Gray."

Steve's legacy is already massive, and the ESPYs victory just brings more attention to his cause and his story. He's remained an inspiration, and the standing ovation he received speaks to how inspiring he is to even the world's best athletes.