George Karl received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance during the 2010 ESPY Award ceremony on Wednesday night. Jimmy Valvano gave an inspiring 1993 ESPY Awards speech just eight weeks before he died of cancer.
Coach Karl spent most of this last year battling throat cancer and going through treatments that left him tested, but not hopeless at times.
Karl, who had been cancer-free since prostate surgery in July 2005, went through 36 continuous treatment sessions of radiation therapy five days a week for six weeks, the last two or three being the most difficult.
Encountering severe burns associated with the radiation treatment, the toll left Karl about 40 pounds lighter.
"It's a personal challenge, it's a family challenge and you have to have your family support you. I had an incredible family," said Coach Karl. Coby Karl, George Karl's son, also went through two surgeries of his own for thyroid cancer only a year after his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
George Karl was signed to ABA's San Antonio Spurs in 1973 and stayed with the Spurs after they joined the NBA in 1976. Beginning in 1984, Karl's coaching career ...
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Article written by Terry Brooks
George Karl Recieves Jimmy V Award at 2010 ESPYs
July 15th, 2010 by Terry Brooks Leave a reply »
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