July 15, 2015
The long list of accomplishments and larger than life lessons learned by Mo'ne Davis just got a bit longer after the star of Philadelphia's Taney Dragons was awarded an ESPY on Wednesday night for Best Breakthrough Athlete.
Winner for #BestBreakthroughAthlete goes to Mo’ne Davis. Davis led her team to Little League World Series last year. pic.twitter.com/Lvy301CS8y
— ESPYS (@ESPYS) July 16, 2015
Davis, 14, became the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series History when she and her Dragons teammates went on an exhilarating 2014 run that captivated the entire city with baseball fever last summer.
That groundswell of interest and support put Davis on the cover of Sports Illustrated and prompted a series of initiatives and tests that few people her age could have handled with equal maturity and kind-heartedness. Davis has designed a sneaker line to benefit underprivileged girls and traveled with her team on a historic civil rights tour. She's signed on for a Disney Channel movie and appeared on a basketball court with both the Harlem Globetrotters and in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game. She has even taken a tasteless mean tweet from a college baseball player, forgiven the guy and called for his reinstatement after his team dismissed him.
ESPN got this one right. Mo'ne was the epitome of a breakout star athlete over the past year.
