Trump will award Medal of Freedom

President Trump will bestow the United States’s top civilian honor upon three legendary sports figures, the White House announced Saturday.

Babe Ruth, Roger Staubach and Alan Page will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House on Nov. 16. The award recognizes “especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

The trio joins a long and illustrious list of athletes to receive the honor, including Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens and Michael Jordan. Ruth will become the 12th professional baseball player to be honored the award, the first being another former Yankees legend, Joe DiMaggio, who was selected by Gerald Ford in 1977. Staubach and Page are the first pro football players recognized.

Staubach, who has historically campaigned for Republican political candidates, responded, “I don’t want to comment on any political stuff but, service football is extremely respectable and very competitive. They’ve won some big games. They are not in the top 10 this year or anything, but it’s still good football. I really enjoy watching service football.”

Page, 73, was one of the original members of the Minnesota Vikings' “Purple People Eaters” defensive line and later became an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He helped Notre Dame to the 1966 national championship. He was drafted by the Vikings in 1967 and was named NFL MVP in 1971. He played in four Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

During the final years of his football career, Page enrolled at the University of Minnesota’s law school and practiced law privately until winning a seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992. He served on the bench for 20 years.

Trump also will award the Medal of Freedom to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), physician, philanthropist and political donor Miriam Adelson, rock and roll star Elvis Presley and late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.