And I’m going to work as hard as I can... for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we’ll have some cures and some breakthroughs. I’d like to think I’m going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!

Jim Valvano said this during his acceptance of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards, after he had been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. In the speech he publicly committed himself to raising money for cancer research, a pledge that helped galvanize national attention and fundraising efforts. Valvano, a celebrated college basketball coach best known for leading NC State to the 1983 NCAA championship, used the televised moment to frame his remaining time as a fight not only for his own life but for scientific progress. The address became closely associated with the later growth of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

The quote blends determination, hope, and darkly realistic self-awareness. Valvano shifts the focus from personal tragedy to collective action: hard work directed toward research, “cures,” and “breakthroughs.” His wish to return “next year” to present the award is both a literal hope for survival and a symbolic insistence on continuity—life and purpose extending beyond diagnosis. The language (“fight my brains out”) turns illness into a contest of will, but the deeper force is ethical: he uses public recognition to redirect attention to a cause larger than himself, urging audiences to see courage as sustained commitment rather than a single heroic moment.