ESPN(NEW YORK) — It’s time again for the annual ESPN Body Issue, where star athletes of all shapes and sizes bare it all in front of the cameras to celebrate body positivity.
This year, ESPN profiled 23 athletes for the highly anticipated issue, including two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.
The ninth annual Body Issue also features the first breast cancer survivor to appear, with portraits of the four-time Olympic medalist sprinter Novlene Williams-Mills from Jamaica.
The magazine also showcased the first veteran to appear in an ESPN Body Issue — retired Marine Corps Sgt. Kirstie Ennis, an adaptive snowboarder with a prosthetic leg.
“I had the hardest time wrapping my head around losing my leg,” Ennis told ESPN during the photo shoot. “But now I look at it and I’m proud of it.”
Each of the 23 unique athletes profiled shared their stories and reasons why they decided to participate in the daring photo shoots.
Thomas, the 5’9″ point guard for the Boston Celtics, told ESPN that in basketball, “I’ve been counted out my whole life because of my size.”
Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys told ESPN when baring it all, “My abs get a lot of attention.”
Meanwhile, hockey star Joe Thornton joked, “I think I have good abs underneath, you just can’t see them.”
Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP, said that for athletes, being asked to be included in Body Issue is “one of the major honors.”
“I always dreamed of being in this issue,” the 6’2″ basketball star said, adding that she hopes to reveal “a different side of me as an athlete.”
The ESPN Body Issue hits newsstands nationwide on July 7.
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