Cooper Kupp is the Los Angeles Rams’ nominee for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, an honor presented annually to a player who exemplifies “outstanding sportsmanship on the field.”
It was created in 2014 to honor Art Rooney Sr., the late founder and Hall of Fame owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kupp is one of 32 nominees for the award, joining Budda Baker (Arizona Cardinals), Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders), Grady Jarrett (Atlanta Falcons), Austin Ekeler, (Los Angeles Chargers), Calais Campbell (Baltimore Ravens), Von Miller (Buffalo Bills), Alec Ingold (Miami Dolphins), Johnny Hekker (Carolina Panthers), Dalvin Cook (Minnesota Vikings), DeAndre Houston-Carson (Chicago Bears), David Andrews (New England Patriots), B.J. Hill (Cincinnati Bengals), Ryan Ramczyk (New Orleans Saints), Nick Chubb (Cleveland Browns), Daniel Jones (New York Giants), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Duane Brown (New York Jets), Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos), Kalif Raymond (Detroit Lions), Alex Highsmith (Steelers), Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers), Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco 49ers), Jerry Hughes (Houston Texans), Will Dissly (Seattle Seahawks), DeForest Buckner (Indianapolis Colts), Lavonte David (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Christian Kirk (Jacksonville Jaguars), Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans), Nick Bolton (Kansas City Chiefs) and Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders).
Kupp is often praised for his work ethic and leadership, so it doesn’t come as a surprise he was nominated for the honor.
WR Cooper Kupp is the Rams' nominee for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, which is presented annually to the player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship such as fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) November 22, 2022
Last year, the Rams’ nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award was Jordan Fuller, but he ultimately lost out to Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater.
A panel of former players including Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, Curtis Martin and Leonard Wheeler will select eight finalists, four from each conference, in December. The winner will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 9.