Noah Galloway-Caitlyn Jenner Courage Award Rumor: Army Veteran Was Not The Runner Up

U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway is an inspiration, but he did not lose to former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Rumors swirled that Galloway was up for the 2015 ESPYs accolade but lost to Jenner after she appeared on the July cover of Vanity Fair Monday.

The rumor went wild after a photo of Galloway, which shows him during a photo shoot with Men’s Health magazine, went viral earlier this week. “Caitlyn Jenner won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The runner up was this guy: Army Veteran Noah Galloway, who lost an arm and leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq, and competes in Crossfit events, runs marathons, and competed in the 58-hour Death Race,” the hoax claims.

The rumor apparently started with Boston Herald reporter Gerry Callahan. As of publication, the tweet has been shared nearly 10,000 times and went viral on other social media sites like Facebook. As Snopes noted, the ESPN press release, which revealed Jenner as the 2015 Courage Award recipient, never mentioned Galloway.

Furthermore, ESPN released a statement to MTV Wednesday that claimed a so-called “runner-up” does not exist. There is “no such thing as a runner up for the three major awards,” an ESPN spokesperson said.

“The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is meant to honor individuals whose contributions transcend sports through courageous action. Sometimes that courage is demonstrated over the course of a lifetime and sometimes it is demonstrated in a single act that shines a light on an important contemporary issue,” ESPN elaborated in a statement on their website Wednesday. “At all times, there are many worthy candidates. This year, we are proud to honor Caitlyn Jenner embracing her identity and doing so in a public way to help move forward a constructive dialogue about progress and acceptance.”

Though the rumor has clearly been debunked, Callahan has not issued a public response.

Galloway has ignored the rumors, instead posting pictures of his children and fiancé Jamie Boyd to Instagram.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella