Report: Caitlyn Jenner's camp pitched ESPY award in exchange for PR plugs

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ESPN's annual ESPY Awards show generally comes and goes with little controversy.

Until this year, that is.

Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion decathlete, will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at Wednesday night's event which will be televised on ABC. Abby Wambach, a member of the U.S. women's national soccer team that just won the World Cup, will present Jenner with the award.

According to a new report, Jenner's ESPY award originated as a pitch from her representatives to ESPN. Per RadarOnline, Jenner's camp suggested to the network that she receive the award and offered public relations plugs on her upcoming reality show in return.

"They suggested that she receive the Arthur Ashe award,” a source told the website. “It was a brilliant move because the executives at ESPN loved the idea, and immediately began making sure it got done. Caitlyn’s journey to accepting the award will also be featured on her upcoming reality show, 'I am Cait.'”

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According to the report, the negotiations with ESPN started as Jenner's team was finalizing the terms of her April interview with Diane Sawyer on fellow Disney property ABC's "20/20." That interview netted the program's biggest rating in 15 years.

“There was a hiccup during the talks about Caitlyn receiving the award, and her reps were prepared to pull her interview with Diane Sawyer if she didn’t get it,” RadarOnline's source said. “It was ironed out, and ABC owns one of the biggest stories of the year.”

When Jenner was announced as this year's Ashe Award winner, a social media backlash ensued. Many argued that the late Lauren Hill, the former Divsion III women's college basketball player who raised $1.5 million for cancer research before succumbing to brain cancer, was a more worthy recipient.

Caitlyn Jenner will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at Wednesday's ESPY Awards ceremony. Her selection as this year's winner has been controversial in social media circles. Caitlyn Jenner will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at Wednesday's ESPY Awards ceremony. Her selection as this year's winner has been controversial in social media circles. Photo: Associated Press Photo: Associated Press Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Report: Caitlyn Jenner's camp pitched ESPY award in exchange for PR plugs 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

ESPYs producer Maura Mandt defended Jenner's selection in an interview with Sports Illustrated. Per Mandt, the final decision on the award was not made until after Mandt met Jenner in early May. She said the process also included vetting Jenner and meeting with her friends and family as well as consulting others, including the Ashe Foundation.

"I think Caitlyn's decision to publicly come out as a transgender woman and live as Caitlyn Jenner displayed enormous courage and self-acceptance," Mandt told Sports Illustrated. "Bruce Jenner could have easily gone off into the sunset as this American hero and never have dealt with this publicly. Doing so took enormous courage."

ESPN also announced Tuesday that Hill will be honored at the ceremony. Hill's mother told USA Today their family had nothing to do with the criticism of Jenner.

“I don’t think (Lauren) would have had a strong opinion on (the award) either way, to be honest,” Lisa Hill said. “She was pretty down-to-Earth, she respected (people from) all walks of life and people who were different. She would have never been judgmental or harsh or anything like that."