CINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati Royals and University of Cincinnati great Oscar Robertson will be honored at ESPN's ESPY awards this week for his work that changed the landscape of professional sports.
The ESPY awards take place Wednesday, July 16 at 8 p.m. and will air live on WCPO and stream live on ESPN+.
Robertson will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his fight to establish free agency in the NBA, ESPN announced.
The award is given to a member of the sports world who has made a difference beyond the field of play by fighting for what they believe in and impacting people worldwide.
Robertson was the longest-serving president of the National Basketball Players Association from 1965-1974. D
Robertson, as the president of the NBA Players Association from 1965 through 1974, helped athletes fight for free agency; in 1970 he filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA aimed at blocking an NBA-ABA merger, "liberating players from exploitative contract restrictions," an announcement from the ESPN Press Room says.
After that merger was successfully delayed, in 1976 the Players Association reached a settlement with the NBA that is now known as "the Oscar Robertson rule." It changed the balance of power in professional sports and ushered in free agency in the NBA and other professional sports.
Known as the “Big O,” Robertson was the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season (1961-62).
Robertson, who signed his contract with the Royals in Carew Tower in September 1960, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1961. He was the league MVP in 1964. He won three NBA All-Star Game MVPs and received nine All-NBA First Team honors.
Robertson is also a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named one of basketball's greatest players in 1996.
He was the first three-time national College Player of the Year while at UC and a three-time First Team All-American from 1958 to 1960. Robertson led the Bearcats to a 97-7 record and two NCAA Final Four appearances (1959 and 1960).
A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, Robertson was also honored with an NBA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 — he was honored with the same award during NBA All-Star Week in 2016 as well.
