Los Angeles Lakers wing Reggie Bullock has been named one of four finalists for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award, sponsored by ESPN.
Bullock has been an outspoken ally of the LGBTQ+ community after the murder of his sister – a transgender woman – in 2013. The 28-year-old has not only spoken about his experience with having someone near to him murdered for being a part of that community but he has also taken plenty of action to prevent similar injustices from occurring to others. For example, he has worked with Athlete Ally to defeat an anti-trans bill in South Dakota that would have banned transgender youth from competing in high school athletics (h/t ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).
Bullock acknowledged the honor by posting on his Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByV2oX7BKni/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The other finalists for the award are former NFL player Chris Long, tennis player Sloane Stephens and St. Louis Cardinals player Yadier Molina.
While Bullock’s activism far preceded his time with the Lakers, the small forward joined several teammates who often gave back to their communities. Kyle Kuzma has been an active voice for bringing clean water to his hometown of Flint, Michigan. JaVale McGee has worked to bring clean water to communities in Africa (as well as Flint). LeBron James has been an outspoken advocate for social justice and has created a school for underprivileged youth in Ohio.
We are all rooting for Reggie to win this award for his massive contributions as he continues to speak out for those suffering from injustice.
