The award is named after former North Carolina State University men’s basketball coach Jim Valvano, who famously delivered his “Don’t give up; don’t ever give up” speech while terminally ill with cancer during the 1993 ESPYs. In that spirit, Staley has become a persistent advocate for cancer research.
Seeing the disease devastate both her sister, Tracey Underwood, and her friend and former assistant coach, Nikki McCray-Penson, in recent years, Staley took to the fight. According to an ESPN release, she partnered “with an organization to mobilize potential donors – especially those in the Black community – to sign up on a bone-marrow registry (the National Marrow Donor Program, formerly Be the Match); she advocated for patient care, research and resources; and she visited and supported those undergoing treatment.”
Staley’s work with her sister, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020, led to a life-saving bone-marrow transplant from their brother, Lawrence.
Last summer, Staley, along with UVA women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, visited sickle cell patients at UVA Health Children’s. The experience led to the formation of a bond with one young girl who Staley still cherishes through a necklace.
Staley, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, is the first woman to receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance since N.C. State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow won the inaugural honor in 2007.
Other winners of the award include former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly and broadcasters Stuart Scott, Craig Sager and Dick Vitale.
