The 2015-2016 SEC Sportsmanship Award Winners have been announced, proving their is still some positivity in collegiate athletics.
*This story has been adopted and shortened from the press release from secsports.com*
LSU, Kentucky and Florida athletics are certainly holding their heads a little higher today. Each program consistently represents SEC sports well, and evidently their athletes do so off the field as well.
Leonard Fournette, who plays football for LSU, Lloydricia Cameron, who represents the Florida track & field team and the entire Kentucky Volleyball team and their support staff are the recipients of the ninth-annual Southeastern Conference Sportsmanship Awards. The SEC league office announced it and the honorees were selected by a vote taken from the SEC’s 14 Directors of Athletics.
With all the bad news floating around college athletics, it is nice to hear of some positive stories. It is even better to hear it — at least for us — coming from those that play SEC sports.
Leonard Fournette earned the men’s SEC Sportsmanship Award for his actions in support of the people of South Carolina. The Tigers were scheduled to play an away game against South Carolina that had to be moved to Baton Rouge due to flooding. Fournette, who experienced Katrina firsthand, offered his support during an on-air interview that he would auction his game jersey to help flood victims in South Carolina.
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While the NCAA at first ruled this act to be inappropriate and against the rules, they later gave in to the public outcry and gave Fournette their approval. The jersey raised $101,000 — making it the most ever generated by an auction by an active college student-athlete.
The great stories of SEC sports do not stop there.
Lloydricia Cameron was named a co-winner of the women’s SEC Sportsmanship Award for being as honest as Abraham Lincoln. At the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, Cameron was incorrectly credited with a mark of 57.11 meters in the discus throw. The throw would have been the 2nd-ranked throw in program history. Cameron, though, knew it had been incorrectly marked and insisted on taking her next-furthest throw of only 55.14 meters. Her original mark would have placed her in the top 10, while her actual throw landed her at 16.
Had enough positive news from SEC sports? Me neither.
The co-winner of the women’s SEC Sportsmanship Award was The University of Kentucky volleyball team and support staff due to their care of an injured LSU volleyball player.
LSU senior Cati Leak suffered an ankle dislocation in a pre-match warmup period. Kentucky athletic trainer Katy Poole led the charge to action, giving instant medical care and assistance to Leak’s parents. Wildcats personnel stayed with the family at a hospital throughout the evaluation and even provided hotel rooms to the family when it was determined that surgery was necessary.
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Kentucky athletics made SEC sports even more proud when they honored Leak at LSU’s senior day three weeks later when Kentucky visited Baton Rouge. Kentucky even deferred first serve to enable Leak to have the first serve.
Each has made the world of SEC sports proud. For a full list of previous award winners, visit secsports.com