Nelson Mandella

‘Sport has the power to change the world’ – Nelson Mandela, 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards

25 Years of Laureus

‘Sport has the power to change the world’ – Nelson Mandela, 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards

Winner
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt received the honour for his exceptional humanitarian efforts in the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, helping to raise $37 million to help those impacted.
JJ WATT - Sporting Inspiration Award 2018

When Houston went through the hurricane, we saw disaster. We saw devastation. But what I saw after that was hope. I saw something truly special. I saw neighbors, I saw kids, I saw policemen, firefighters, strangers step up to help each other out. I saw people from all over the world donate their money, donate their time, drive in, fly in to help out their fellow citizen. A citizen they may never have met before. A place they may never have been before, but they saw a human struggling, a human in need, and they helped out. I didn’t do anything special. I just gave everyone an opportunity to help. Everybody else did the work.

JJ Watt
Nomination
Year
Result

Email Sign up

Email Sign-up

Sign up for all things Laureus

Get regular updates throughout the year