Being a professional athlete comes with many joys and perks. You can play the game you love and call it your career, and if you’re lucky and good enough, you can help establish your family for life. In fact, the hard work pays off for an athlete when the personal accolades start pouring in. All-Star selections, Gold Glove awards, etc. But when he gets recognition from his peers for his work off the field, then he knows he’s really done it.
What sets a guy like Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner apart from many is his ability to give back to the community. And now, for all of Turner’s efforts all season off the field, the veteran has been named this year’s Roberto Clemente Award winner.
The award is given to those who “best represent the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” Turner joins Clayton Kershaw and Steve Garvey as the only Dodgers to receive the award.
JT discussed the award with MLB.com.
“It feels like [everything] It’s really taken off since the day I put on the Dodgers uniform,” Turner said. “Obviously, it’s very special for me growing up in Southern California and being able to wear that jersey and be a part of an organization that has so much history and has so many people that have impacted the game in so many different ways. I’m just trying to do my little part.”
This award is considered among many to be MLB’s most prestigious honor and this award comes as no surprise to Turner, who was nominated for the award five times in his career. And now, finally, he’s bringing home an award that he recently told Jomboy Media’s Chris Rose that he wanted more for his wife Kourtney than for himself.
Justin and Kourtney founded the Justin Turner Foundation in 2016. JTF supports homeless veterans, children and families battling life-altering illnesses and diseases, as well as youth baseball organizations. In 2021, Dream Center changed the name of its food bank to Justin and Kourtney Turner Foodbank which currently supplies more than 66 Food Banks in Los Angeles.
The Turners also frequently visit UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and Cedar-Sinai Medical Center to visit and help children battling illness. Turner sent one of his tacos to the kids and allowed them to color it before using it in a doubleheader on September 20.
Over the years, the foundation has organized numerous charitable events, including the annual Justin Turner Golf Tournament, a 5K event that raises funds for the LA Dream Center, and even saw the introduction of a weekend bingo tournament. of All-Star week that was a great success previously. this summer.
In September, JT talked about being nominated for the award again where he shared what the award would mean to him.
“It is really an honour. I’ve received this nomination multiple times, and with all the teammates that I have that are active in the community, being selected to represent the Dodgers is pretty special,” Turner said. “But more importantly, being the person that Justin Turner is for the Roberto Clemente award, knowing how much he cared about the community first and giving back and lifting people up, that’s really special to Kourt and me and something I don’t know. we take. for granted.”
Justin and Kourtney are true heroes in the community and there are few more deserving of this honor. Congratulations to Justin, Kourtney, and everyone at the Justin Turner Foundation for this amazing recognition!
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