With Jenner hoopla also comes a message that resonates

The hype on ESPN began at about 6:08 p.m. Wednesday evening when “Sports Center” anchor Stan Verrett informed us that Caitlyn Jenner’s trip to the stage to accept the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPY Awards on ABC “is going to be a moment you don’t want to miss.”

That, and subsequent teases for Jenner’s appearance on the show, lent credence to anyone believing her selection for the award was more about the network’s desire to maximize ratings than anything else.

More about the bottom line than the courage it took for Jenner to reveal her authentic self in April, then talk about her transgender identity to an auditorium full of the greatest athletes in the world, including LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter, plus those who tuned in to watch.

She was talking to millions of viewers, many who might view Jenner’s appearance as some kind of freak show.

Yes, the hype machine was rolling. Ken Jeong, the comedian/actor, promised viewers that they were “going to see an historic moment in television.” Then came more teases: “And still to come, Caitlyn Jenner . . . ” And those commercials kept rolling. Those ESPY advertisers won big. Delaying the presentation of the Ashe Award until near the end of the show likely held an audience that could wind up producing a huge rating for ABC, which was airing the ESPYs for the first time.

This strategy seemed to confirm Bob Costas’ opinion that Jenner’s selection was a “crass exploitation play” by ESPN.

It sure seemed that way, until Caitlyn Jenner hit the stage. Her message was powerful, clear and important. If we were being exploited, so be it. Let it be. For this was Jenner not only reaching out to transgender kids, lost, lonely, and bullied, but telling us all: “I wasted my life because I didn’t really know who I was.” That statement was chilling. As she continued delivering the word, our cynicism melted. All the talk of her getting the award as a reward for granting ABC’s Diane Sawyer an exclusive interview in April was drowned out as Jenner talked about a transgender teen who was stabbed to death. Or the one who took her own life.

Jenner was now truly on her own, no matter how many commentators claimed this was just another ring inside the Kardashian media circus. She even delivered a message to the superstars in the audience who, by the looks on their faces, did not know what to think.

“With attention comes responsibility,” she said. “As a group, as athletes, what you say, what you do, is absorbed by millions of

people. . . . Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect.”

Think about it. Since the ESPYs began, and since Jimmy Valvano made his “never give up” speech in March of 1993, much of ESPN’s efforts have been geared toward raising money to fight cancer. On Wednesday night the parents of Lauren Hill, the 19-yearold Mount St. Joseph University basketball player who died in April of an inoperable brain tumor, were honored with an award. So was Bengals lineman Devon Still, whose 5-year-old daughter, Leah, is battling cancer.

In honoring Jenner, ESPN was highlighting a cause that needs to be spotlighted, big time. The exposure the network gave Jenner is a start.

“So, for the people out there wondering what this is all about, whether it’s about courage or controversy or publicity, well I’ll tell you what this is all about. It’s about what happens from here,” Jenner said. “It’s not about one person. It’s about thousands of people. It’s about all of us.”

In the cutthroat world of social media, and the media in general, where motives are attached to many things, Jenner, standing on stage in a full-length white dress, was preaching acceptance.

“Accept one another,” she said. “We’re all different. That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.”

Reaching out to people, young and old, who are confronted by the same challenge she faces is the goal here. And everybody who already had an interest in this lifestyle is well-aware of what needs to be done. Still, in this appearance on ABC, Jenner was able to reach eyeballs that tuned in to see Odell Beckham Jr. or Stephen Curry, but were confronted with an issue they probably never Ngave much thought to. ow, with their huge platforms, these athletes can make a difference if they so choose.

“And while it might not be easy to get past this the things you don’t understand,” Jenner said, “I want to prove it is absolutely possible if we only do it together.”

And that ain’t hype.