2002 ESPN-ESPY

Arthur Ashe Courage Award

Mark Bingham Rugby Player U. of Cal. 2 time National Champion Member of the San Francisco Fog RFC

Jeremy Glick U. of Rochester Rugby Football Club

For their Courage on 9-11-2001

With A Cockpit Charge And Taking Down United Flight 93 In The Farm Fields Of Pennsylvania

Ending The Plans Of Another Jet Aircraft Heading Towards

Washington DC And Into The White House

 

 

How Ironic is it, that two rugby players who never knew each other before hand were the ones to charge up the aisle way of Flight 93, and accomplish their mission of saving innocent others by overtaking the controls of the airliner in a fight to the death, and being unarmed, against 5 other armed terrorists. Flight recordings do show proof that these ruggers actually were able to gain full control of the cockpit seconds before crashing after they took out the terrorists with their bare hands. Since the rugby population is well below a thousandth of a percent of the US population, the need to have a rugby player on board, fit its need on that very flight.

 

Endless e-mails were sent by several successful businessmen who are now in their 50's and 60's, who were rugby players in their younger days, encouraging all rugby players to wear there rugby jerseys instead of business suits during their business flights in during the month of September to solute both Bingham and Glick. 1st class and coach seats the next week were checkered with jerseys on all business routes.

 

National TV news did have a female passenger quoted when she walked off a flight a few days later. When she was asked if she felt safe flying again after 9-11; she said, "I was scared at first, but it sure did help when I saw a rugby player on board, nobody's going to mess with him."

 

-- Rugby Players May Fall In Defeat, But Will Never Kneel For Mercy --