{"id":945897,"date":"2026-07-15T05:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/945897\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T05:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:00:16","slug":"jeffrey-lurie-earns-espn-honor-for-autism-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/945897\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeffrey Lurie earns ESPN honor for autism impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>July 14, 2026, 10:05 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jeffrey Lurie has earned one of ESPN\u2019s top humanitarian honors for work that has stretched well beyond football and into autism research, care, and support for families across the world. The <a data-autotag=\"c1b3a094-e294-4a77-b1b2-dbdbd5bfa2c5\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/philadelphia-eagles\/354\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> owner and chairman was named this year\u2019s recipient of the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award at the 2026 Sports Humanitarian Awards during ESPYS week. Lurie was joined at the event by Stuart Scott\u2019s daughters, as well as Jason and Kylie Kelce, as he received recognition tied to one of the franchise\u2019s most important off-field missions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The award honors people who have used innovation, risk-taking, and the power of sports to help disadvantaged communities while reflecting values such as fairness, ethics, respect, and fellowship. For Lurie, the recognition is connected to his leadership with the Eagles Autism Foundation and the Lurie Autism Institute, two initiatives that have helped make Philadelphia one of the sports world\u2019s most visible platforms for autism awareness, research, and care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Eagles Autism Challenge began in May 2018, and the Eagles Autism Foundation, founded in 2019, has raised more than $56 million through efforts such as the annual Eagles Autism Challenge. The foundation has helped fund more than 223 research projects and community grants worldwide, according to the team, while participant-raised funds from the organization\u2019s signature charity event are invested into autism research and care programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Lurie\u2019s impact expanded significantly in 2025, when the Lurie family donated $50 million to the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine to establish the Lurie Autism Institute. The joint initiative between the two hospitals was described as the largest single donation to U.S. academic medical centers focused on autism research across the lifespan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the past decade, Lurie\u2019s autism-focused efforts have contributed to more than $106 million in research and care. Under his leadership, the Eagles have made the Eagles Autism Challenge a franchise-wide initiative, with players, coaches, executives, and staff members participating in the annual event.<\/p>\n<p>Expert NFL picks: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (nfl)|e|auto spike click:7|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/picks\">Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI am truly humbled to be recognized as the recipient of this year\u2019s Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cThis honor exemplifies the transformative power of sport and the life-changing impact it can have on people. Stuart was a trailblazer whose legacy was built on integrity, professionalism, and bravery. His authentic character and fearlessness in the face of adversity will live on forever through this distinguished award.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Lurie has long viewed ownership of an NFL franchise as an opportunity to create impact beyond wins and losses. His autism work has focused on funding science-backed research, expanding services, and supporting children, adults, parents, caregivers, and medical communities connected to autism spectrum disorder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI have always envisioned that the impact of owning a professional sports franchise could extend beyond the field and into the global health community,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cThe Eagles Autism Foundation and Lurie Autism Institute have been created to support individuals with autism and their families by funding innovative and potentially groundbreaking research rooted in science and data, in addition to providing programming and services to those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The award was created in 2015 to honor the life and legacy of Stuart Scott, the longtime ESPN broadcaster who died from cancer earlier that year. Previous recipients include Robert Kraft, Stephen Ross, Billy Bean, Brice Christianson, Dr. Richard Lapchick, Chris Evert, Steve Gleason, and Dikembe Mutombo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">For the Eagles, Lurie\u2019s recognition adds another national honor to one of the franchise\u2019s defining community missions. Philadelphia has built a model for how a professional sports organization can use its platform, visibility, and resources to fund research and create measurable support for families. Lurie\u2019s latest honor confirms that the Eagles\u2019 impact under his leadership continues to reach far beyond the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 14, 2026, 10:05 p.m. ET Jeffrey Lurie has earned one of ESPN\u2019s top humanitarian honors for work&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":945898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[95878,25,7,6,242,109,2476,119451,97111,97112,95882,100452,95892,100678,116446,95895,95906,96191,95883,95881],"class_list":["post-945897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-eagles","tag-accessfree","tag-eagles","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-philadelphiaeagles","tag-sourceeagles-wire","tag-sstssportsnfleagles","tag-sstsneagles","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagcharity-philanthropy","tag-tagespn-inc","tag-tagmerit-prizes-contests","tag-tagneurological-conditions","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagphiladelphia-eagles","tag-tagsports-news","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116922235216276894","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}