The 2022 ESPY Awards took place on Wednesday, and Katie Ledecky won the Best Female Athlete Award. Meanwhile, USWNT star Megan Rapinoe accepted the Best Play honors. With their incredible achievements in their sport, there’s no surprise from fans that they won.
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And while their sports are wildly distinct, their fans are united on one front. The presenters had no idea how to pronounce their names. And the fan responses range from finding it hilarious to being deeply offended.
Katie Ledecky and Megan Rapinoe win at the ESPYs
25-year-old Katie Ledecky has 10 Olympic medals (7 gold) under her belt, along with 19 World Championship titles. She’s the most decorated female swimmer and widely regarded as the swimming GOAT. She gave an inspiring acceptance speech, urging the youth to find something they love and pursue it.
“To all of the young athletes out there, … find something that you really love, that you’re good at, that can be a positive force in our world.”
—Katie Ledecky with a message after winning the ESPY for Best Athlete, Women's Sports 💪 pic.twitter.com/t1mZLyVlxJ
— ESPN (@espn) July 21, 2022
“Something that can inspire somebody else, something that can help somebody else, anything that can change our world,” she said. “There are so many heroes, not just in sports, but all around us… look to those people as role models, and go for the gold.”
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, has helped the USWNT bring home two World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal. She made a stunning appearance, flipping off the cameras on the red carpet. She won the Best Play award and took a moment to mention Brittney Griner.
"We love her. … We miss her. … We're doing every single thing we can to get her out."
—Megan Rapinoe took a moment to acknowledge Brittney Griner at the ESPYS pic.twitter.com/5JDFj74bLS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 21, 2022
“Like what are we doing here dressed up like we are when our sister is detained abroad? We haven’t done enough, none of us. We can do more, we can support her more, and just let her know that we love her so much,” she said.
Fans react to the presenters butchering their names
Their incredible accomplishments in their sport and outside of it make Katie Ledecky and Megan Rapinoe quite famous. Ledecky has certainly reached GOAT status with her dominance in the pool, and Rapinoe continues to make headlines every day with her activism and incredible plays on the soccer field.
So how exactly did the presenters mispronounce their last names? It is a fact that baffled quite a lot of fans.
How did she mispronounce Katie Ledecky’s name after it was literally just said in the nomination video? #ESPYS
— Alyse (@itslyseee) July 21, 2022
They really pronounced Katie Ledecky’s name wrong? I guess you gotta do better than win Best Female Athlete… #ESPYS
— Alex Raphael (@AlexRaphael__) July 21, 2022
Now I know they didn’t just pronounce Katie Ledecky’s name like that 😅
— Khayla Lloyd (@khaylaiman) July 21, 2022
Especially when the ESPYs did a celebration of Title IX on the show. Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.
So Katie Ledecky and Megan Rapinoe both had their names significantly mispronounced when winning their ESPYS on stage. This is also while they've been promoting women's sports and equality. Yikes
— Nick Juskewycz (Sked) (@NickJuskewycz) July 21, 2022
Imagine being all TITLE IX this that and completely butchering Katie Ledecky’s name #ESPYS 😂
— QC (@QC_2020) July 21, 2022
How do you mispronounce Katie Ledecky’s name when giving her an #ESPYS award when she’s won literally every race humanly possible? How is her name not burned into your brain after 800 Olympic victories? 🤦🏽♀️
— Sandra Santana (@SandraSantanaxo) July 21, 2022
They do the whole 50 year celebration of Title IX and the presenters at the ESPYS can’t even correctly pronounce Ledecky or Rapinoe. SMH
— Mike Gwizdala (@MikeGwizdala) July 21, 2022
It became quite an awkward situation for the presenters.
How do they not know how to pronounce Katie Ledecky’s name?!
— Allie Muha (@alliemuha) July 21, 2022
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Next time you want to pronounce Katie Ledecky’s name, just pronounce it as “The GOAT.” #ESPYS
— Hannah Greenfader 🇵🇷 (@hgreen1997) July 21, 2022
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We hope the next these two accomplished sportswomen step onto the stage to receive an honor, the pre-show prep for presenters goes a little better.
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