A big honor for the Sporting News on AOL columnist.

From the AWSM newsletter:

“I had no idea and was obviously incredibly, incredibly honored,” said Olson, who was coping with the after-effects of colossal storm Sandy when notified. “I emailed (my mom) to tell her not that I didn’t have power or anything, but to tell her I won the Pioneer Award.”

“Few people in the world have resumes as illustrious and international as the one Lisa Olson has compiled over the course of her career,” said Stef Loh, AWSM president. “Lisa started her career at a time when sports media was a very different, much less welcoming environment for women, and her longevity in the industry and body of work is testament to the impact she’s had in the field of sports journalism. As all our past winners have done, she paved the way for women in sports, and for that, we say thank you. The sports world would be a different place without her.”

Of course, for all the stories and columns that she has written, Olson always will be remembered for the harrassment incident in the New England Patriots locker room in 1990, which became a major national story.

“Lisa’s body of work speaks for itself,” said one AWSM member who nominated her, “and her battle for access in the locker room to cover the Patriots forced the … NFL to make changes. Her life changed because of what she had to go through. Mary Garber has been honored with APSE’s highest lifetime achievement, the Red Smith Award. I can’t think of another print/web journalist who would be deserving of being honored with an award named after Mary Garber.”