On Sunday, July 1 at University of Washington’s Husky Ballpark, ESPN and Special Olympics USA Games will stage the first-ever ESPN | Special Olympics Unified Sports Challenge featuring executives and their employees, celebrities and Special Olympics athletes all competing in multiple Unified Sports challenges to demonstrate the power of inclusion, of playing Unified and raising funds for Special Olympics and the local Seattle community. The ESPN | Special Olympics Unified Sports Challenge coincides with the start of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games Seattle, for which ESPN is the official broadcaster and will provide daily coverage from July 1-6.
Each executive will be part of a Unified team of five people, including themselves, two of their employees, a celebrity who is committed to a diverse and inclusive community and a Special Olympics athlete.
“We are incredibly excited about the upcoming Special Olympics USA Games and proud to be working with Special Olympics and other incredible companies to illustrate how easy and powerful it is to choose to include,” said Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International. “Personally, I am thrilled to be joining with an incredible team to have a fun, active day and take the challenge to our competition while we raise awareness for the power of inclusion.”
Added Beth Knox, President and CEO of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, “The business community’s support for the 2018 USA Games has been off the charts. We’re incredibly honored to have our partners participate in the Unified Challenge and to stand with them and their employees as we prioritize a stronger, more inclusive community.”
Elissa Margolis, Sr. Vice President, Enterprise Social Responsibility added, “Inclusion is a core value at Disney and something that is personally very important to me. I’m thrilled to be participating in the Unified Sports Challenge and very proud that Disney is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games Volunteer Program.”
Companies who will have teams in the ESPN | Special Olympics Unified Sports Challenge will include:
- Bank of America: team led by Anne Finucane, Vice Chairman
- Coca-Cola: team, led by Jim Dinkins, President Coca-Cola North America
- DocuSign: team led by Dan Springer, CEO
- The Finish Line, Inc.: team led by Sam Sato, Chief Executive Officer
- Holland America Line: team led by Orlando Ashford, President
- ESPN: Team led by Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, ESPN International
- Kaiser Permanente: team led by Bernard Tyson, CEO, Kaiser Permanente
- Microsoft: team led by Brad Smith, President
- Seattle Mariners: team led by John Stanton, Chairman & Managing Partner and Jerry Dipoto, Executive Vice President & General Manager
- Starbucks: team led by Vivek Varma, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs
- Swire Coca-Cola: Paul Lukanowski, Sr. Vice President and General Manager
- The Walt Disney Company: team led by Elissa Margolis, Sr. Vice President, Enterprise Social Responsibility
- University of Washington: team led by Ana Mari Cauce, President
- WWE: team led by Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer
Among the confirmed athletes and celebrities participating are:
- Victoria Arlen: ESPN reporter, author, model, Dancing With The Stars semi-finalist and former Paralympian
- Lorretta Claiborne: speaker, advocate, ESPYs Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner
- Walter Jones: Seattle Seahawks legend and Hall of Famer
- Kasey Keller: USMNT, MLS & Premier League goalkeeper; ESPN analyst and USA Games Board Member
- Steve Largent: former U.S. Representative, Seahawks legend and NFL Hall of Famer
- Kenny Mayne: ESPN SportsCenter anchor
- Kevin Negandhi: ESPN SportsCenter anchor
- Apolo Ohno: Olympic champion speed skater
- Gary Payton: Seattle Supersonics legend and NBA Hall of Famer
- Lauren Potter: actress and advocate
- Holly Rowe: ESPN reporter
- Big Show: WWE Superstar
- Marty Smith: ESPN reporter and host
- Jordan Spieth: world No. 3-ranked golfer
- Allen Stone: acclaimed ATO Records R&B recording artist
- Jim Zorn: Seahawks legend
The teams will compete in fun and engaging unified activities, including Hot Shot Basketball, Penalty Shot Soccer, Electronic Dance Game, Bocce, Inflatable Dart Board, Football Accuracy Challenge, Giant Memory Game and Golf Putting.
The winning team will be awarded $20,000 to donate to Special Olympics USA Games or a Seattle based non-profit of choice, leaving a lasting legacy. The second through fourth placed teams will have the same opportunity with prize amounts of $12,500, $7,500 and $5,000, respectively.
Tim Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics International said, “Special Olympics Unified Sports is an opportunity to get off the sidelines and onto the field. I am thrilled to see the incredible list of corporate participants in the first ever ESPN | Special Olympics Unified Sports Challenge. This is truly a testament to the culture of inclusion and respect these executives believe in and are implementing throughout their organizations.”
Additional thoughts and comments about the ESPN | Special Olympics Unified Challenge from some of the participants included the following: