West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding has been named the Best Pundit at the SJA British Sports Journalism Award 2020.
Holding, who voiced his support for the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, opened Sky's coverage of England's Test series against the West Indies in July 2020 with a compelling monologue on racial injustice after George Floyd's death - calling for an end to institutionalized racism through substantive social reform.
Alongside Ebony Rainford-Brent, Holding explained during their commentary of last year's summer Tests how racism had affected their lives. It was deemed in some quarters as arguably the most powerful piece of sports broadcasting of all time.
The following day after making the monologue, he broke down on Sky News while describing his own encounters of racism. The videos went viral, reaching people who had no interest in cricket and had no idea who he was.
In his acceptance speech at the online awards ceremony, Holding said: "It is something that has been in me and in my head for many, many years."
Sky Sports News and Digital also won in the Special Sports Edition category for their online article, accompanying video and social coverage of "George Floyd 100 Days On: How Sport Has Fought For Change."
The Sky Cricket team also picked up the SJA Award for best Television / Digital Live Event Coverage for the England vs West Indies: Black Lives Matter coverage.
Black Lives Matter began as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager killed in Florida in July 2013.
The campaign gained traction following two high-profile killings of slain African American men in 2014, including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and, most recently, Floyd in 2020.
The Black Lives Matter protests peaked June 6, 2020, when half a million people turned out in nearly 550 places across the U.S.
