Ross’ RISE initiative to receive prestigious Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award

Stephen Ross wants to build skylines.

He wants to build a champions.

And he wants to build bridges — not between shores, but between people.

Along with owning a billion-dollar real estate empire and a National Football League franchise, Ross has made his life’s mission to use sports to fight racism.

He created the RISE initiative after the Dolphins’ 2013 bullying scandal, which has reached tens of thousands of youths across the country. RISE is “a nonprofit dedicated to harnessing the unifying power of sports to improve race relations and drive social progress.”

Those efforts have not gone unnoticed.

RISE has been named a recipient of the 2017 Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award, which “celebrates individuals and organizations that have taken risks and used an innovative approach to helping the disadvantaged through the power of sports.” The group will be honored at the third annual Sports Humanitarian Awards on July 11.

Included in the award: a $100,000 grant from ESPN for leadership in improving race relations and driving social progress.

“We are honored that RISE is a recipient of the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award, named after a man synonymous with bringing all walks of life together through the unifying power of sports,” Ross said. “I want to thank all of the players, sports executives and league officials who have united to make a positive impact around such an important issue.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Ross’ RISE initiative to receive prestigious Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award."