Other athletes with Minnesota ties honored by ESPYs

June 22, 2020 at 12:53PM

Twins star Nelson Cruz won the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award at Sunday night's ESPY Awards, and he wasn't the only person with Minnesota ties to be recognized during ESPN's annual awards celebration.

Arthur Ashe Courage Award: Former Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love has become a spokesman for mental health and wellness. Past winners include Jim Valvano, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Pat and Kevin Tillman, Nelson Mandela and Pat Summitt.

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Taquarius (T.Q.)Wair, who played football at Minneapolis North High School and is now a running back for Mesabi Range College in Virginia, Minn. Wair was in the coma for a month and lost four fingers on his left hand following a house fire in 2005. Past winners include Jim Kelly, Craig Sager, Stuart Scott and Eric LeGrand.

Here's the video about Wair that was shown during the program.

Other ESPY winners with Minnesota ties from the past: Lindsey Vonn, Maya Moore, Blake Hoffarber, Ryan Dungey and Adrian Peterson.

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