The Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award has been awarded by the National Football League Players Association continuously since 1966. The most recent winner, for the 2011 season, is Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. The award honors work in the community as the NFL player who best served his team, community and country in the spirit of Byron "Whizzer" White, who was a Supreme Court justice, professional American football player, and humanitarian. Past winners included Warrick Dunn, Gale Sayers, Bart Starr, Peyton Manning, Troy Vincent, and Ken Houston.[1] Prior to the Supreme Court, White had been All-Pro three times (1938, 1940, 1941) and the NFL Rushing champion twice (1938 and 1940).
The 2000 recipient, Michael McCrary, had been the child in the Supreme Court case Runyon v. McCrary in which Whizzer White had ruled on nearly a quarter of a century before McCrary's award.