Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, who came out as transgender this year, was honored at this year's ESPY Awards ceremony, sparking controversy among social media users.
The 65-year-old, who as Bruce Jenner took gold at the 1976 Olympics in the decathlon, received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which is named after the late United States tennis star and presented to "individuals whose contributions transcend sports."
Jenner received a standing ovation and gave an emotional acceptance speech at the Los Angeles event, officially known as the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards. In her speech, she called for respect and acceptance of other transgender people.
"I trained hard, I competed hard and, for that, people respected me, but this transition has been harder on me than anything I could have imagined, and that's the case for so many others besides me," Jenner said.
"For that reason alone trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect."
As with any controversial subject, Jenner's recognition sparked mixed reactions on social media. Some said they were inspired by her courage.
Others were upset by the choice to honor Jenner.
Howard Eskin, sports anchor at Fox29 and sports radio personality for WIP-FM 94.1, was outspoken about his disapproval.
Eskin had posted a similar, but perhaps more insulting, tweet earlier, which he later deleted.
The annual awards, presented by the sports cable network ESPN, pay tribute to leading sports performers and performances of the year.
Others honored at the awards included the U.S. women's soccer team, basketball players LeBron James and Stephen Curry and retired New York Yankees player Derek Jeter.
Reuters contributed to this report.