Manchester City’s England forward Raheem Sterling was awarded for his role in the fight against racism in football at this year’s BT sport in London.
He was honored with the Integrity and Impact award –founded by Jones Sports Intelligence-by his international manager Gareth Southgate by the BT Sport Industry Awards on Thursday.
He was recognized for his fight against racism in sports and using his platform to highlight and challenge racial abuse and lack of diversity prevalent in the sport.
He became the second person to be awarded this award, the first being Rachel Denhollander in 2018. She was the first survivor to speak out against the disgraced American Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Sterling has said earlier this month that more players needed to speak out when they suffered racism to eradicate it from the game. He also signed a manifesto recently where he said clubs should be handed automatic nine-point deductions and ordered to play three games behind closed doors if their supporters participate in racist activities and behavior.
“He has sparked the sports media and the industry more widely to consider conscious or sub-conscious racial bias in their actions,” Dow Jones head of the sport Simon Greenberg said.
