Bryant Gumbel to Receive 2017 NFL Players Association Georgetown Lombardi Award

Emmy Award-winning television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel has been named this year's recipient of the NFL Players Association Georgetown Lombardi Award. Gumbel, who overcame two battles with cancer in 2009 and 2010, will be presented with the honor at the 31st Annual Lombardi Gala on Saturday, November 18 in Washington, D.C.
"I'm honored and humbled to be recognized by the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center," Gumbel said. "As a two-time cancer survivor, I'm acutely aware of how the disease impacts lives in so many ways. I am proud to join DeMaurice Smith in the NFLPA's ongoing support of such a great cause."

The NFL Players Association Georgetown Lombardi Award was established to honor leaders in the sports industry whose lives have been touched by cancer and who have encouraged cancer research, prevention and treatment through awareness and philanthropy.

"Bryant Gumbel's highly esteemed reporting and incredible versatility as a journalist have cemented his legacy as one of the best in the media industry," said DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, who is serving as the honorary chair of the Lombardi Gala for the eighth year. "It is my personal honor to present this award to him at this year's Lombardi Gala as we continue the fight against a disease that has also impacted my own family."

A native of New Orleans, Gumbel has hosted numerous sporting and news events during a 45-year career highlighted by four Emmy Awards and stints at NBC, CBS and HBO. Since 1995, he has served as the leading voice for the critically acclaimed investigative series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

"As Bryant Gumbel knows, facing down cancer requires great courage," said Louis M. Weiner, MD, director of Georgetown Lombardi. "For public figures, what is usually a private health matter becomes FODDER for newspapers and tabloids where every action is analyzed. Bryant persevered with great poise and strength under that intense spotlight. He is living proof that we can beat cancer, and research is leading the way to a cure."

Gumbel joins past award recipients Chris Mortensen, Stuart Scott, Devon and Leah Still, Robert Kraft and Larry Fitzgerald, whose dedication to raising cancer awareness was commemorated by the more than 5,000 active and former players of the NFLPA as well as hundreds of researchers, physicians and clinical staff at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Lombardi Gala annually celebrates the great impact made by members of the cancer center's community and benefits the facility named after legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who was treated at Georgetown University Hospital before succumbing to cancer in 1970.

The 31st annual event, which will take place at the Ritz Carlton, is open to the public and tickets are on sale now. The black-tie dinner and dance begins at 7:00 p.m. with a cocktail reception, silent auction and popular annual raffle for a brand new 2017 NXF Sport Lexus. All proceeds from the gala will go directly to Georgetown Lombardi for cancer research, education and treatment. For more information, visit the Lombardi Gala webpage.

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