RIP. I always enjoyed watching him on ESPN. ____________
ESPN anchor Stuart Scott has passed away at the age of 49.
Here's the statement from ESPN.
Stuart Scott, a dedicated family man and one of ESPN’s signature SportsCenter anchors, has died after a courageous and inspiring battle with cancer. He was 49.
Scott is survived by his two daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15; his parents, O. Ray and Jacqueline Scott; and his three siblings Stephen Scott, Synthia Kearney, Susan Scott and their families. His girlfriend, Kristin Spodobalski, was with Stuart and cared for him every step of the way and along with support from his loving family, close friends and colleagues, he went through several surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and clinical trials to stay strong and ward off cancer for as long as humanly possible.
“ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott,” said ESPN president John Skipper. “Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments? Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set? His energetic and unwavering devotion to his family and to his work while fighting the battle of his life left us in awe, and he leaves a void that can never be replaced.”
On July 16, 2014, Scott accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYs. During his speech, he expressed the following sentiment about his two daughters: “Taelor and Sydni, I love you guys more than I will ever be able to express. You two are my heartbeat. I am standing on this stage here tonight because of you.”
During his ESPY speech, Scott shared his approach to fighting cancer. “I also realized something else recently,” he said. “I said, I’m not losing. I’m still here. I’m fighting. I’m not losing. But I’ve got to amend that. When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So live. Live. Fight like hell.”
For 21 years, years Scott was one of ESPN’s and ABC Sports’ most recognizable and quotable personalities and one of the most popular sportscasters around the world. His catchphrases, including his most famous “Boo-ya” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow,” have become an integral part of pop culture. While Scott became instantly known for his enthusiasm and colorful descriptions, he was always proud of the facts he would weave into his storytelling, recognizing that every great story is based in fact.
After joining the network in 1993 for the launch of ESPN2, Scott became a leading voice on ESPN’s SportsCenter, where he anchored the 11pm show. Over the years, his talent and work ethic led to many additional high-profile assignments including major hosting roles on NFL and NBA programming. During his career with ESPN, Scott covered a slew of major events, including the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, the NCAA Final Four and more.
From 2007-2011 Scott was the host of ABC Sports’ weekly NBA Sunday studio show, ESPN’s NBA studio show, and served as a host during the NBA Finals Trophy presentation each year. Scott also hosted numerous ESPN and ABC series and specials, including Dream Job, Stump The Schwab, ESPN’s 25th Anniversary Special, and The ESPY Red Carpet Show.
In addition to this busy TV schedule, Scott had also worked as a regular contributor to ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com.
Scott was featured in countless This is SportsCenter commercials, which he so enjoyed.
Most recently, Scott was in the anchor chair alongside his longtime partner, Steve Levy, when ESPN re-launched SportsCenter on a new set.
Scott not only interviewed most of the world’s top athletes, he interviewed top celebrities, newsmakers, and politicians. Stuart interviewed and played a televised game of one-on-one basketball with President Barack Obama, one of his two interviews with the President, and conducted numerous one-on-one interviews with the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Denzel Washington and President Clinton.
Hollywood and Madison Avenue also took notice of Scott’s wide appeal; he was featured in numerous high-profile commercial campaigns. He appeared on many TV shows, sitcoms, feature films and music videos and was parodied in a Saturday Night Live skit.
Over the years, Scott earned numerous awards and honors. He was recently honored with the NABJ Award of Merit, received a Rammy Award which pays tribute to superlative performances in athletics, academics and sports from his beloved alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, and was a guest of honor at the 14th annual “An Evening with Heroes” celebration in Indianapolis, which benefits the Heroes Foundation. In 2011 he was honored by The V Foundation with “The Spirit of Jimmy V Award.” He was instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for The V Foundation, Livestrong, and participated in Stand Up To Cancer campaigns as well donating time to raise awareness and funds for numerous other charities.
He always said a personal and professional highlight for him came in 2004, when he was requested by U.S. soldiers to be a part of “ESPN’s SportsCenter: Salute the Troops” effort, in which he and fellow anchors hosted a week of programs originating in Kuwait.
Prior to joining ESPN, Scott worked at local stations in Orlando, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina and Florence, South Carolina. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1987. One of his proudest moments came when he served as the commencement speaker at his alma mater in 2001.
At North Carolina he played wide receiver and defensive back for a club football team.
He was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007, and dealt with recurring bouts of the disease. He met the challenge as he did everything in his life – with determination, a courageous fighting spirit and an always positive attitude that impacted and inspired everyone who knew him.
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
He joined ESPN when I was a kid and just getting into sports (at least watching sports). So in many ways I have Stuart Scott (and SportsCenter) to help thank for that.
Beat Cancer twice. That's enough to tell you what kind of guy he is. 3rd time was obviously too much.
The best story I heard was that he never wanted to know what "stage" of cancer he had.. He didn't want to be defined, or have a "life span" left.. He just wanted to live..
He recovered from two battles with cancer, and was training in MMA and Crossfit.. Some may not of liked his style, but you have to respect the man.
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
RIP Stuart. 49 is way too young to leave this earth, and way too young for kids to be left without their father, but unfortunately, life is never, ever fair.
My prayers and condolences to his family and friends.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
John 3:16 Jesus said "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
One thing I gotta say...........It was reported several times today that Stewart Scott lost his battle w/cancer. However, if you listened to him, he did NOT lose the battle. He won a ton of battles. He never gave in. He lived his life the best he could considering the circumstances. That makes Stew a winner.
I hate freaking cancer. My dad died from it when he was 56. I had a tumor in my throat. GM has got colon cancer.
My dad fought his ass off. It started in his colon and spread to his liver. He was too stubborn to go to the doctor. Guy never missed a day of work in over 20 years at Timken Roller Bearing. When he finally went to the doctor, he came home and said......"I should have never went." They gave him two weeks. 85% of his liver was consumed by cancer. He fought and fought. They kept bringing in a priest. He lived for 21 and half months after being given only 2 weeks to live. Cancer killed him, but my dad was a warrior and he was not a loser. I feel the same way about Stewart Scott. He did not lose the battle. He won plenty of battles and proved that he is a great warrior and champion.
I really feel that we should do more to help. I have PMed GM and asked him how I could help him. I have read his thread and many of you want to help him. I think of my dad. I think of Stewart Scott. How can we help them?
The answer is simple..............donate money to cancer research so it does not claim any more of our loved ones and can perhaps save a loved one like GM.
Rich Eisen was heartbroken this morning when he announced Stuart's passing on NFLN. He managed to get through that entire 2-minute tribute like a true pro- something I could never have done.
I could hear the despair and sense of loss in his voice, and could tell that this man had truly lost a good friend. Rich Eisen did his friend proud today.
I migrated away from ESPN many years ago, but always stopped in from time to time, just to enjoy Stuart's delivery for a few minutes. He was an original... and I'll remember him fondly.
This is still so surreal. He really was sports center to my generation and demographics. Damn. It used to be I'd get off the bus, go inside and watch sports center (back when they had reruns during the day, didn't matter) for hours back then (Told you that the reruns didn't matter). I did that about every day from 1st grade into high school. He was always there, talking in our language. Man, this is just so surreal. My thoughts go out to his family.
Stuart Scott, the loquacious and suave ESPN sportscaster, died Sunday after a prolonged and public battle against cancer. He was 49.
As much as I wish otherwise, I can’t claim that Scott was a member of my immediate family or even a close friend. Doing so would be a stretch of the truth and dishonest to his memory. But that doesn’t diminish the sadness I felt upon hearing of his passing.
Scott was a broadcasting icon, a transformative figure who changed the way we watched and talked about both sports and athletes. In 1993, he burst into millions of American homes via ESPN2—an offshoot of the cable sports network ESPN—bringing African American panache and the flash and flair of urban, hip-hop culture into what had been a staid, white-suburban-targeted world of televised sports. Sports broadcasting has never been the same.
Scott’s on-air presentation blended a seemingly improvisational riff of pop culture and hip-hop references into the nightly highlights of athletic performances. His “Booyah!” catchphrase became a part of the grunting soundtrack of athletic competition. As if speaking of his own persona, Scott punctuated outstanding athletic feats with witticisms that praised a home run or three-point basket for being as “cool as the other side of the pillow.”
“You’ve got to be true to who you are and what you do,” Scott told XXL Magazine in a 2001 interview. “I’m more of a hip-hop feel person. Music is how you feel. The younger the mind, that’s how I want to be.”
Despite the fond recollections currently filling airwaves and pervading social media, Scott’s style wasn’t universally popular at first. As Time Magazine’s Sean Gregory notes in his appreciation of Scott’s life, there was a time when Scott had big-time haters due to his infusion of black-sounding references into his broadcasts. ESPN Senior Vice President Mark Gross—one of Scott’s first producers at the network—told Gregory that Scott received blistering hate mail. “Some of the viewing audience wasn’t used to it, wasn’t with it,” says Gross. “But Stuart never backed off.”
Good thing, too, for ESPN—and for Scott. As Gregory notes, “Over the past decade, every time Scott showed up to anchor an NBA Finals, or a Monday Night Football game, it was a reminder to those who watched his early days at ESPN, in the mid-1990s, that Scott’s style more than prevailed. It became the standard.”
Faithful ESPN viewers first learned of his illness in November 2007, when Scott became sick while covering a Monday Night Football game. It was later disclosed that doctors, upon removing his appendix, had discovered that he had cancer. In the subsequent years, we watched him on television as he fought the disease into remission, only to see it re-emerge in 2011 and again in 2013. In July 2014, he gave the performance of his career in a moving speech accepting the Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance. It was Scott’s last public appearance. Scott is survived by his teenage daughters, Sydni and Taelor; his parents, O. Ray and Jacqueline; his siblings, Stephen, Synthia, and Susan; and his girlfriend, Kristin Spodobalski.
Like so many of his sports-nutty fans across the United States—from President Barack Obama to NBA great Michael Jordan to golfer Tiger Woods—I was deeply saddened to learn of his passing. Scott’s presence—and presentation—on television was so unmistakable and unique that I came to feel as if he was a living, breathing member of my family.
To be honest, I do in fact claim a few familial ties to him. Scott and I both attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, or UNC. He graduated in 1987 with a speech communications degree, while I earned a journalism degree in 1978. If you ever watched Scott broadcast ESPN’s SportsCenter or provide commentary for Monday Night Football, you’d know that, like any self-respecting Tar Heel, he never shied away from expressing his passion for all things Carolina blue.
During my time at Carolina, I helped charter the Mu Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Scott pledged into Mu Zeta nearly a decade later and is undoubtedly the best-known Alpha man to graduate from UNC.
In 2000, our shared college and fraternity roots prompted me to invite Scott to speak to a seminar titled “Race, Media and Popular Culture” that I was leading at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He agreed to speak to a packed room of students, without asking for a dime in payment. Scott came, he said, to help out a fraternity brother from Mu Zeta.
Later, away from the crowds and autograph seekers, Scott and I enjoyed a private dinner. We talked about UNC, fraternity, and family. What I recall most from that singular meeting was how he said that hanging out with Michael Jordan, covering a Super Bowl, or making a rap song wasn’t nearly as important or special to him as being a father to his young daughters. And, as if to underscore that point, the only request he made of his appearance at Harvard was that the university provide a car to transport him back to Connecticut in time to tuck his girls into bed and kiss them good night.
No, we might not have been good friends, but Stuart Scott was definitely my brother.
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