It’s been a few months now since the country was captivated and inspired by James Shaw Jr., the Waffle House hero who wrestled an armed gunman to the ground and managed to save dozens of lives in the process. Since then, several everyday citizens and celebrities have sung his praises and bestowed upon him many accolades, however there is one major form of recognition he’s still hoping for.
If you tuned in to the recent MTV Movie & TV Awards, you likely saw one of the show’s most talked about moments, which was when Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman gave his award to Shaw, a real-life hero, for his bravery earlier this year. According to TMZ, Shaw is still taking in all the love he’s been receiving recently, but he wants some major recognition from the White House as well.
Um, he may be waiting a while for that.
Shaw told TMZ via Skype:
“Hopefully I get invited to the White House. Looking back at it now, not knocking any basketball or football team at all, they’re invited to the White House when they win the super bowl or the championship and now looking back now I should be invited for the Medal of Freedom which is the highest civil award that I can win…”
In Shaw’s defense, he’s not just seeking personal recognition, he said he really wants to get the invite so “Everybody can get off of Trump’s case and it’ll be over with.”
Hate to state the obvious, but #45 is about as likely to give James Shaw Jr. the Medal of Freedom, as he is to attend a #BlackLivesMatter rally…it’s not happening. Nonetheless, it was just announced that Shaw is slated to receive one of the inaugural Humanitarian Hero awards at this year’s BET Awards ceremony which airs live this Sunday. Surely that’s better than any recognition one could receive from Trump.