WASHINGTON - Tonight Zenobia Dobson will accept the ESPYs' Arthur Ashe Courage Award on behalf of her son, Zaevion Dobson. Dobson, a high school football star and community role model from Tennessee, died shielding three friends from gunfire in the midst of a random drive by shooting. The gunmen didn't know Zaevion, and he didn't know them.
Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued the following statement.
"We thank the ESPYs for not only honoring Zaevion's life and heroism, but for shining a light on this critical issue. Enough is enough. We owe it to Zaevion and to the 90 Americans who are shot and killed every day to disarm hate and stop this senseless violence. Just being a kid on aThursday evening, Zaevion was put in a position that no teenager should ever have to be in - and he answered with instinctual courage and love. With his whole future ahead of him, he selflessly gave his life for others and became another victim of America's gun violence crisis.
"As a nation we've allowed an epidemic of gun violence, one that kills 90 Americans a day and disproportionately ravages communities of color, to fester unchecked. Our policymakers simply haven’t done enough to keep guns out of dangerous hands and protect the American people.
"If there is any solace to be found in the loss of a life so young and full of promise, it is that Zaevion died a hero so that his friends might live. Like the officers in Dallas, and at the age of 15, he ran toward the sound of gunfire. And so long as politicians fail to act on gun violence, heroes like Zaevion Dobson will continue to be called upon to do the extraordinary things that keep the rest of us safe."
The Arthur Ashe is awarded for the most significant or compelling humanitarian contribution in transcendence of sports in a given year. Dobson was fifteen years old at the time of his 2015 death. He'd have just turned sixteen last month.
Past recipients of the Arthur Ashe include Caitlyn Jenner, Muhammed Ali, Jimmy Valvano, and passengers of United flight 93.
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