Danica Patrick to be first-ever female host of the ESPYS
LOS ANGELES — Danica Patrick has lined up her first post-retirement gig: hosting The ESPYS.
She will preside over the show honoring the past year’s top athletes and moments in sports on July 18. The show airs live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Patrick is set to retire from auto racing after competing in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, where her fourth-place finish in 2005 is the highest by a woman.
She will be the first woman to host the show. Previous hosts include LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Seth Meyers, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Kimmel and Justin Timberlake.
Patrick first attended the show in 2005, and ESPN says she holds the record for most consecutive years attending (13) by any athlete. She has said she met boyfriend, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, at the show.
The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage will be presented to the sexual abuse victims who spoke out against former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team doctor Larry Nasser.
