WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says 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,” according to the Trump tweet 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 the 81-year-old West, who also has worked as a basketball executive.
Trump recently gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to golfing great Tiger Woods and plans to give one later this month to Arthur Laffer, the economist known as a leading proponent of supply-side economics.