[1] Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States Paralympic soccer player Eli Wolff,[2] the accolade's trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan,[3] is presented to the disabled sportsman adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
[1] It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.
[5] The inaugural winner of the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2005 was Paralympic track and field competitor Marlon Shirley, who won two medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and was the first para-athlete to go below eleven seconds in the men's 100-meter category with a time of 10.97 seconds.
[6] In 2015, South African wheelchair racer Krige Schabort was selected as the recipient of the award.
As of 2018[update], he is the only athlete born outside of the United States to have won the accolade,[7] though three additional foreign sportsmen have earned nominations.