McCourty Twins Named Finalists For 2020 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award
BOSTON (CBS) -- The McCourty twins aren't just known as two key members of New England's lockdown secondary, they're also known as great humanitarians. For their work in various communities and charities, Devin and Jason are now up for an extremely prestigious award.
The McCourty twins are finalists for ESPN's Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, given to an athlete (in in this case, athletes) "whose demonstrated leadership has created a positive impact on their community through sports."
"The McCourty twins feel strongly that too many kids with great potential get stuck with juvenile records at a very young age. In many cases, this marks the children for failure later on in life. Devin has been a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform at the Massachusetts State House. Thanks to his leadership, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill to increase the age at which children can be charged in juvenile court from 7-years old to 12-years old," ESPN highlighted in its announcement. "When his brother Jason joined the Patriots, together they urged lawmakers to raise the age of adult court jurisdiction from 18 to 19, a move that the bill established a task force to study. They also are working together to address disparities in educational funding. Thanks to their leadership, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill that will invest $1.5 billion in the Massachusetts public education system over the next seven years, focusing primarily on underfunded schools with low-income students."
In April, Devin and Jason donated $90,000 worth of Chromebooks to help kids in the East Ramapo and Nyack School districts, where they attended school growing up.
Also nominated for this year's award are Minnesota Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore, and WWE's Titus O'Neil. Each nominee will be featured in ESPN studio shows the week of June 15, and the winner will be announced during The 2020 ESPYS on June 21.
The winner will be given a $100,000 grant from ESPN for a qualified charity related to their humanitarian efforts, with finalists receiving a $25,000 grant.
