Caitlyn Jenner got emotional while speaking at accepting her Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Award. (Photo : YouTube)
As part of Caitlyn Jenner's emotional speech at the ESPY Award on ABC on July 15, Wednesday, the transgender and former Olympian mentioned Sam Taub, a Metro Detroit transgender teen who committed suicide, and the late teen's parents have different reactions to it.
"I want to tell you about Sam Taub, a 15-year old transgender young man from Bloomfield, Michigan," Jenner said in his acceptance speech of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. "In early April, Sam took his own life."
According to Jenner, Taub's story haunts her in particular because the death of the transgender teen, who was a freshman at West Bloomfield High School, was a few days before her interview with Diane Sawyer, who she calls her friend.
However, Taub's mother Cristina Bowman and stepfather Larry Bowman were not happy about it. In an exclusive statement to "Inside Edition" news magazine program, the Bowmans said what Jenner did by using their daughter's name in national television was "so uncalled for" and she had no rights whatsoever to use their daughter's name.
"Samantha never indicated to anyone closest to her, at any time of her life, that she had transgender issues until the last four months of her life," the Bowmans said of the late transgender teen in the statement.
On the contrary, Taub's father Geoffrey Taub was happy with Jenner's tribute to his late son. The father told New York Daily News, "I think anyone would have drawn strength from Caitlyn's message. Sam would have drawn some strength."
