Zaevion Dobson, the 15-year-old high school football player who sacrificed his own life to save three young women from gunfire in late 2015, [was] honored at the2016 ESPY Awards on Jul. 13 for his courage.
Dobson [was] be posthumously recognized with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which is presented annually to sports figures possessing “strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril, and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost.”
~Huff Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zaevion-dobson-arthur-ashe-award_us_576a8d39e4b065534f48492e
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=17060299
In a moving speech used to introduce new gun control measures [in December 2015,] Obama teared up as he spoke about victims of America’s love affair with guns — Sandy Hook first-graders, high school students at Columbine and college students at Santa Barbara. He paid particular attention to one victim: Zaevion Dobson. “If you have any doubt as to why you should feel that ‘fierce urgency of now’ (to change gun laws) think about what happened three weeks ago,” Obama began.
“Zaevion Dobson played football; beloved by his classmates and his teachers. His own mayor called him one of their city’s success stories. The week before Christmas, he headed to a friend’s house to play video games.
He wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He hadn’t made a bad decision.
He was exactly where any other kid would be.
Your kid.
My kids.
And then gunmen started firing.”
Obama said Zaevion “hadn’t even gotten started in life” when he gave his life for others. “(Zaevion) dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets. And he was shot in the head. And the girls were spared. He gave his life to save theirs — an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
His death was a crushing blow to family and friends but his bravery surprised none. His football coach said he was a “fine, fine young man and a success story” and his friend said he was a hero.
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/the-story-that-inspired-president-obamas-gun-control-speech/news-story/e7285b3d7bd7b0f206d16a4cb1a3f4d8
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