Super Bowl winning coach Gary Kubiak, veteran NBA referee Steve Javie, Olympic women’s basketball star Juliene Brazinski Simpson and fencing coach Janusz Bednarski have been elected into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame for 2017.
Gary Kubiak spent 34 seasons in professional football as a player and coach. Recently, he served as head coach of the Houston Texans (2006-2013) and the Denver Broncos (2015-2016) helping the Broncos win Super Bowl 50. Overall, he participated in seven Super Bowls as a player and coach.
Steve Javie is a retired National Basketball Association (NBA) referee who worked for 25 seasons, from 1986-2011. He officiated 1,514 regular season games, 243 playoff games and 23 NBA Finals games. Highly respected for his game management skills, Javie was also a crew chief for 22 years.
Juliene Brazinski Simpson helped the United States claim the silver medal in 1976 in the first ever women’s Olympic basketball competition, serving as co-captain of the U.S. squad. She was a four-time All-America player and led John F. Kennedy College to a pair of national championships in 1973 and 1974. Overall, Brazinski Simpson was selected to represent the United States in 11 international competitions.
Janusz Bednarski was head coach for both the men’s and women’s fencing teams at Notre Dame for 12 seasons, leading the Irish to three NCAA Team Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2011. During his tenure, his pupils won 14 individual championships including two gold medals in the 2008 Olympics. The former coach of Poland’s Olympic team also led Notre Dame to three second place finishes in the NCAA championships.
The awards will be presented to the recipients at the 45th Annual Induction Banquet on Thursday, June 22, 2017, at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan.
Tickets for the banquet, which begins at 5:30 pm, are $100 and can be ordered by calling (313) 407-3300.
Information about the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is available at www.polishsportshof.com.