Jesse Lind wins Spirit of the Games
For Jesse Lind, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games are about family.
They’re a family he fell into — a family he’s sticking with for life.
A 44-year-old Marine Corps veteran, Lind was honored with the 2025 National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) Spirit of the Games award Tuesday night inside the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota.
The Spirit of the Games award recognizes an athlete who is nominated by his or her peers and whose attitude, sportsmanship and courage reflect the best of what the Games represent to all athletes.
Lind, who served from 1999-2001 in aviation operations, was injured in a car accident in California when he was 18 years old, sustaining a spinal cord injury with level T10, T12 and L2 fractures and leaving him an incomplete paraplegic. This marked his 11th year at the NVWG, with his first trip coming in Philadelphia in 2013.
This year, he competed in air rifle, pickleball, cornhole, wheelchair softball, disc golf and field events, including discus and shot put, along with wheelchair basketball — where he capped the Games with a 32-point effort and helped lead Team Huskies to a 61-52 gold-medal win over Team Bulldogs late Sunday afternoon.
As he wheeled up to the stage with veterans yelling “Jes-ee, Jes-ee,” to receive the award, he waved to the crowd a few times while his son, 15-year-old Julian, recorded the moment from their table. Once up there, Lind kept it short and sweet.
“You know, they say that you can’t pick your family. But I disagree — because I chose y’all. And evidently, y’all chose me,” says Lind, who lives in Little River, S.C. “It’s an honor. Thank you.”
Along with the honor, Lind received a trip from First Nation Group that’s valued up to $2,000 anywhere in the U.S., whether it be for rest, adventure or inspiration, and the company will also sponsor his 2026 NVWG attendance in Detroit, paying for lodging and travel for him and one guest.
Afterward, Lind says he felt fulfilled and that he just tries to be the positive voice everywhere. Having his son, who’s come to the Games ever since he was 4- to 5-years old, there to share the moment, too, left him happy. For Lind, Julian serves as a fan and a coach, all in one.
“Oh, man. He’s he’s my road dog. He’s my biggest supporter, my biggest fan since he was a little guy,” Lind says.
Julian says he’s learned plenty from his dad at home and at the Games.
“He’s really great for proving that people can overcome really anything that’s handed to them, good or bad, specifically bad,” Julian says. “Even, you know, if people get hit with the worst possible thing they could ever have, you literally think your life’s over, you pop out here, it’s a game-changer. It changes your life.”