Rose Bowl Institute Presents First-Ever ROSI Awards to Jackie Robinson and Simone Biles 

The Rose Bowl Institute, an arm of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, presented its first ROSI Awards for Sportsmanship Saturday evening, naming hometown hero Jackie Robinson the “Sportsperson of the Century” and selecting acclaimed Olympic gymnast Simone Biles as “Sportsperson of the Year.”

The announcement was made during Saturday’s “Part of the Century’ at the Rose Bowl, celebrating the stadium’s 100 years.

“Over the past 100 years many great sports and entertainment moments have occurred at the Rose Bowl,” said Rose Bowl Institute President Charlie Firestone. “These great events also saw many important acts of sportsmanship and other sports values. The Rose Bowl Institute was established to create and champion these values,” he continued, “and the ROSI awards bring attention to the best of the best.”

Robinson, a Pasadena native, exemplified the values of sportsmanship, leadership, and citizenship throughout his life. He also set the Rose Bowl record for the longest run in its history as a kick returner for Pasadena Jr. College (now Pasadena Community College), prior to lettering in four sports at UCLA, his barrier-breaking career in Major League Baseball, and subsequent career in business, civil rights, and public life.  A statue of Robinson greets visitors at the front of the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium, a historic landmark described by legendary sports announcer Keith Jackson as the “Grandaddy Of Them All®.”

 

To select the Sportsperson of the Year, the Institute’s prestigious Advisory Board narrowed the field of those who won 2021 sportsmanship awards in their respective leagues, and other nominations, to five finalists: Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Nelson Cruz, Jrue Holiday, and Nneka Ogwumike.

 

As the Institute’s award presentation stated, Simone Biles “represents the ideal of team over self.” Undeniably the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles gave her team “the opportunity to perform better overall at the Olympic Games by removing herself from competition after the first event when she realized her mental game was not in alignment with her body.” She then became the team’s strongest supporter at the Olympics, leading to a silver medal.

 

Responding by video, Biles said she was “truly touched by this honor.” Commending the Institute’s mission of advancing sportsmanship, leadership, and citizenship across the globe as “remarkable,” Biles also paid tribute to the example Jackie Robinson set. Showing her “how to embrace all of who I am,” Biles stated, fellow-athlete Robinson “laid the blueprint for the true grit, resilience, determination, self-respect, and what self-love looks like.”

 

“These awards fit so well with the overall celebration of the Rose Bowl Stadium’s 100th Anniversary,” commented Dedan Brozino, the Legacy Foundation’s Chief Development Officer given the non-profit’s oversight of the Party of the Century. “For 100 years this venue has served as a stage to highlight sports and sportsmanship,” added Jens Weiden, Chief Executive Officer / General Manager of the Rose Bowl Operating Company. “We have a bright future in front of us, and the recognition of sportsmanship will continue to be an integral be part of it.”