(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been celebrated by a Kansas City-area branch of the NAACP.
The NAACP branch of Olathe, Overland Park, and Leawood, Kan. announced Monday that Perez is the winner of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Diversity Advocate Award in Sports.
“Martin Luther King, Jr.’s courage helped change the world and create opportunities for so many of us in sports and other pursuits,” Perez said in a statement. “Receiving an honor with his name on it, wow, this is humbling and something I never could have imagined. His legacy is amazing and will last forever.”
The award recognizes sports figures who honor Martin Luther King, Jr’s principles.
“Salvador Perez represents how a person can become the leader of men and a hero to them, and a city, by treating everyone with respect, equality, and showing them how to be a winner,” said Henry E. Lyons, the President of the NAACP representing Olathe, Overland Park, and Leawood, Kan. “These are the same traits that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. possessed.”
Previous winners include Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
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