Trump says Jerry West to get Medal of Freedom

ESPN logo
Sunday, June 2, 2019

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said that Jerry West, the pro basketball great, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation's highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his outstanding career, both on and off the court," Trump tweeted Saturday night.

West, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, played guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and played college basketball at West Virginia University. No date was announced for the award for West, 81, who also has worked as a basketball executive.

Trump recently gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods and plans to give one later this month to Arthur Laffer, the economist known as a leading proponent of supply-side economics.