The greatest names in sports and entertainment came together on Sunday, May 20th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza to celebrate the 27th anniversary of Sports Spectacular, raising more than $1.3 million to benefit the world-renowned Medical Genetics Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Hosts John Salley, Michael Strahan and Jim Hill kept guests entertained at the annual gala dinner and silent auction which honored the country’s top sports stars in an effort to combat genetic birth defects.
Marc Anthony opened the gala by singing the National Anthem to the crowd of more than 1,600 guests. This year’s honorees included NBA star Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves who was presented his award by Beth Behrs, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, with Michael Strahan presenting the award to Ahmad Bradshaw who accepted on the team’s behalf, and soccer superstar David Beckham of the L.A. Galaxy who was presented his award by hockey great Wayne Gretzky.
More than 1,600 prominent sports figures, entertainers, and business, civic and community leaders were on hand to support and raise funds for children suffering from genetic birth defects. Sports Spectacular raised $1.3 million at this year’s event and has raised $22 million to benefit the life-saving work of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Genetics Institute over the years.
Among the guests were Anthony Anderson, Victoria Beckham, Alan Thicke, Jesse Williams and many more.
Sports Spectacular was established in 1986 in response to the promise of genetic research leading to the understanding of numerous genetic diseases found in children as well as adults. Since that time, Sports Spectacular has raised more than $23 million to benefit the life-saving work of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Genetics Institute. The Institute’s focus is to provide expert consultation and cutting edge research to find new and improved methods of diagnosis, prevention and treatment for all types of genetic disorders, including mental retardation, dwarfism, cystic fibrosis, deafness and malformation syndromes, as well as common diseases of adulthood, such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. The event also benefits the Sports Spectacular Fellowship Endowment, which supports the training of five research Fellows in various medical fields at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
