Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love to receive Arthur Ashe Courage Award

June 17 (UPI) -- Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love, who has been a vocal leader of mental health and wellness in his NBA career, will be given the Arthur Ashe Courage Award during the 2020 ESPY Awards.

Since writing a personal essay for The Players' Tribune in March 2018, Love has encouraged others to tell their stories and struggles with mental health issues. Through his Kevin Love Foundation, the five-time All-Star selection has worked to help destigmatize anxiety and depression.

"It is an absolute honor to receive this award and I am incredibly humbled by it," Love said in a statement Wednesday. "In telling my story, if I can help just one child that is suffering to make sense of what they are experiencing, I know my efforts have been worth it.

"And I hope one day we are able to erase the stigma around mental illness, starting with public conversations around mental health and encouraging people to seek help when they need it, followed by research, action, and change."

Love, 31, provided financial support to arena workers at the Cavaliers' Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in March. In an Instagram post announcing the donation, the NBA champion offered advice to team personnel and others, saying he was "concerned about the level of anxiety that everyone is feeling" because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This year's ESPYS -- hosted by Russell Wilson, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird -- will take place Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT.