Press Release
AAJ Awards Athletes and Attorney John Manly with the Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award
July 11,2018
Washington, DC — During the 2018 Annual Convention in Denver, outgoing American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Kathleen Nastri presented attorney John Manly and USA Olympic and NCAA athletes Jeanette Antolin, Jamie Dantzscher, Mattie Larson, Kaylee Lorincz, Sterling Riethman, and Jordyn Wieber with the Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award.
“It took courage for these remarkable athletes to speak out against their abuser and to lead the fight to hold him accountable in court,” said Nastri. “I thank them for their bravery and am honored to present John, Jeanette, Jamie, Mattie, Kaylee, Sterling, and Jordyn with this distinguished award acknowledging their contributions to the American civil justice system.”
John Manly is a founding partner of Manly, Stewart & Finaldi in California. He represents more than 100 athletes, including Jeanette Antolin, Jamie Dantzscher, Mattie Larson, Kaylee Lorincz, Sterling Riethman, and Jordyn Wieber, who courageously stood up to hold their abuser, former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, publicly accountable in court.
Nastri concluded, “These athletes helped inspire many survivors of sexual harassment and assault to come forward and speak out against their abusers. That’s why it’s critical that we defend and strengthen civil justice in America by protecting constitutional rights and access to the courts.”
About the Award
The Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award recognizes attorneys and their clients whose cases tell the story of American civil justice and help educate the public about the need to protect Americans’ constitutional right to a trial by jury.
The award is named after a brave Richland, Oregon, man who lost his arms at the age of 17 because of a defective tractor hay baler. The tractor manufacturer knew of the tractor’s defective design, yet company executives did nothing – leaving consumers at risk. At the time of Steven’s case, there was legislation pending in Congress that would have protected the tractor manufacturer and prevented him from holding the corporation accountable in court. Steven shared his story with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and ultimately helped convince President Clinton to veto the legislation that would have limited his access to the courts and deprived others like him of justice.
###
The American Association for Justice works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury and to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.
