It didn’t take long for The 2016 ESPYS to come across its first watercooler moment, when Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James addressed not only the athletes in attendance at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, but all of us about our responsibility in the tenuous, scary and emotional state of affairs our country is in.

“We could not ignore the realities of the current state of America. The system is broken. The problems are not new. The violence is not new. The racial divide, definitely, is not new. The urgency to change is at an all time high,” said Anthony.

“We stand here accepting our role in uniting communities to be the change we need to see. We stand before you as fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, uncles and in my case, as an African American man and the nephew of a police officer who is one of the hundreds of thousands of great officers serving this country,” said Paul. “But Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Laquon McDonald, Alton Sterling, Filando Castile. This is also our reality. Generations ago, legends like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and countless others, they set a model for what athletes should stand for. We choose to follow in their footsteps,” Anthony continued.

“The racial profiling has to stop. The shoot to kill mentality has to stop,” said Wade. “But also the retaliation has to stop… Enough is enough. Now, as athletes, it’s on us to challenge each other to do even more than what we already do. The conversation cannot stop as our schedules get busy. It won’t always be convenient. It won’t always be comfortable. But it is necessary.”

“We’re honoring Muhammad Ali, the G.O.A.T., but to do his legacy any justice, let’s use this moment as a call to action for all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence and renounce all violence,” said James. “And most importantly, go back to our communities. Invest our time, our resources, help rebuild them, help strengthen them, help change them. We all have to do better.”

How do you follow that?

With an awards show, hosted by John Cena, who immediately took some of the air out of the room by comparing the major sports to the WWE.

“Cleveland won, that’s impossible,” he said. “Must be scripted.”

The best laughs may very well have come at the expense of retiring NFL legend Peyton Manning, with a winning Gatorade commercial spoof.

The first award of the night went to the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry for “Best Record-Breaking Performance.”

The Chicago Cubs’ ace pitcher Jake Arrieta won for “Best Breakthrough Athlete.” Aaron Rodgers won “Best Play” for his Hail Mary.

Sergeant Elizabeth Marks received this year’s Pat Tillman Award for Service, and the accompanied video and speech from Marks brought the house to universal tears.

LeBron James is not struggling coming off of his first NBA title as a Cleveland Cavalier, and won the ESPY for “Best NBA Player,” “Best Male Athlete” and “Best Championship Performance.” His Cavs also won for “Best Moment,” “Best Team,” and their Game 7 NBA Finals victory winning for “Best Game.”

For a night ostensibly about celebration, the mood was certainly emotional, reflecting America as a whole, with inspiration doled out in droves.

“If you make it about yourself, you will ultimately fail every time,” said “Best Comeback Player” Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs during his acceptance speech. He battled back from cancer to being All-Pro in his first year returning to the gridiron.

Zaevion Dobson posthumously won the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. Dobson died from gunfire after shielding two girls. This selfless act prompted a call to action from Steph Curry, who introduced a tremendous and touching tribute to the 15 year-old athlete, narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan.

“Zaevion Dobson gave his life to save someone else’s. What’s our excuse for not asking?” President Obama asked during the tribute.

Following the video, his mother and two brothers delivered a spine-tingling speech that spoke out against gun violence.

From there, thanks to an incredible performance by Andra Day, The ESPYS commemorated many of the sports greats lost in the past year, including Billie Jean King extolling the virtues of Tennessee Volunteers coach Pat Summitt.

Justin Timberlake then paved the stage for the recipients of this year’s Icon Award: Abby Wambach, Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant.

“Rest at the end, not in the middle,” said Bryant, quoting his English teacher Mr. Fitz.

And we weren’t done, because Vice President Joe Biden took the stage to present the Jimmy V Perseverance Award to sports broadcaster Craig Sager.

“I’m not going to let leukemia get me,” promised Sager, the cherry on top of the feels.

“Each and everyday is an opportunity for a canvas to be painted,” he said.

The night culminated in a tribute to the aforementioned G.O.A.T., Muhammad Ali, from NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, followed by a showstopping and ending performance by Chance the Rapper.

The night was an emotional one, almost unparalleled for an awards show.

[Cube image courtesy of ABC]

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