The United States Sports Academy extends condolences to 2002 Sport Artist of the Year Mina Papatheodorou Valyraki upon the untimely passing of her husband Sifis (Joe) Valyraki in Greece on Sunday, 24 January 2021.

A longtime Greek government official and activist, Valyraki was Minister of Public Order, in charge of the security and intelligence services, from March 1995 to January 1996. Earlier, in the 1980s and 1990s, he was deputy Public Order Minister (1988-89 and 1994-95), Sports Minister (1985-88) and deputy Transport and Communications Minister (1981-84) in the governments of Andreas Papandreou. He also played a role in securing the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

A noted painter, Mina Papatheodorou-Valyraki is a longtime friend and benefactor of the Academy. Her works appear on public display at the American Sport Art Museum & Archives on the Academy campus in Daphne, Ala. The artist’s portrait of the late Academy founder Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich was recently featured on the cover of the institution’s magazine The Academy. She also serves with Academy President and CEO Dr. T.J. Rosandich on the Youth, Education and Culture Commission of the Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs (FICTS), an international organization which promotes the universal idea of culture through sport.