Caitlyn Jenner stood on a stage before some of the country’s biggest sports stars and celebrities Wednesday and issued a challenge to accept transgender people for who they are.
“Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect,” Jenner said at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles Wednesday as she accepted the the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
One of the most celebrated Olympians of all time, the former Bruce Jenner told the athletes in the crowd that how they behave on transgender issues matters for thousands of young people who are transgender and struggling. She urged the athletes to promote acceptance.
“If you want to call me names, make jokes, doubt my intentions, go ahead, because the reality is, I can take it,” she said. “But for the thousands of kids out there, coming to terms with being true to who they are, they shouldn’t have to take it.”
She mentioned trans teenagers Mercedes Williamson, who was murdered in Alabama, and Sam Taub, who took his own life in Michigan.
“They’re getting bullied,” Jenner said of trans youth. “They’re getting beaten up. They’re getting murdered. And they’re committing suicide.”
The moving speech was her most high profile appearance since announcing her physical transition to a woman last month.
Jenner teared up and her voice trembled and broke as she thanked members of her famous family, who were in attendance, including stepdaughters Khloe and Kim Kardashian.
“You guys have given so much back to me, you’ve given me so much support,” she said. “I am so, so grateful to have all of you in my life.”
But she noted that many young people may not have that support. She urged the athletes at the sports award show to use their celebrity to make society more tolerant.
Abby Wambach, a forward on the U.S. soccer team that won the Women’s World Cup, presented the trophy to Jenner.
In announcing Jenner would receive the Arthur Ashe Award, the network said she had shown “the courage to embrace a truth that had been hidden for years.”