ESPN anchor Stuart Scott dead at 49 after long bout with cancer
The innovative sportscaster died Sunday morning, the network reported. He became famous through his catchphrases like "Boo-Yah!"
BY BOB RAISSMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Sunday, January 4, 2015, 10:03 AM
Updated: Monday, January 5, 2015, 1:16 AM
- A
- A
- A
ALLEN BEREZOVSKY/WIREIMAGELongtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott accepts the 2014 Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the 2014 ESPY Awards on July 16. He died Sunday morning at the age of 49, the network reported.
Stuart Scott, whose passion behind the microphone and catch phrases made him one of the most popular and recognizable faces in ESPN’s stable of voices, died Sunday in a Hartford, Conn., area hospital after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 49.
He was diagnosed with the disease after feeling sick while covering a Dolphins-Steelers “Monday Night Football” game in November 2007. Scott entered a Pittsburgh hospital for an emergency appendectomy. During the surgery a malignancy was found. Scott was diagnosed with cancer of the abdomen.
He began chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and the cancer went into remission. But in 2011, Scott went public, saying the cancer had come back. In early 2012 it was in remission again but returned in January 2013.
Last July, while accepting the Jimmy V Perseverance Award (named after the late Jim Valvano, who also died after a fight with cancer) at the ESPYs, Scott provided a window into his heart, soul and philosophy.
“When you die, that doesn’t mean you lose to cancer,” he said. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live. So live. Live. Fight like hell.”
Despite the circumstances, Scott not only continued working when possible, but also fought cancer with rigorous workouts, which included mixed martial arts and cross training. He was determined to lead a normal life during his frightening ordeal.
“I never ask what stage (cancer) I’m in,” Scott told The New York Times. “I haven’t wanted to know. It won’t change anything to me. All I know is that it would cause more worry and a higher degree of freakout. Stage 1, 2 or 8, it doesn’t matter. I’m trying to fight it the best I can.”
His decision to continue to work made Scott’s tenuous plight even more public. When he disappeared from the scene (he was absent from his on-site anchor role for “MNF” this season), speculation mounted concerning his condition.
The absence of a lesser known member of the interchangeable cast of ESPN anchors would hardly be noticed.
On Sunday, tributes poured in from pro athelets, his current and former ESPN colleagues and from the White House.
“I will miss Stuart Scott. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day’s best plays,” President Obama said in a statement. “For much of those 20 years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family – but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends and colleagues.”
Michael Jordan, in a statement to ESPN, said, “I’m so sad to hear the news that Stuart has passed away. He was truly a trailblazer in his field, and by refusing to change his style, made himself into a star. I always enjoyed sitting down to talk to him. But to me, he wasn’t just a broadcaster, he was an old friend, who I’d known since college. He fought so hard against cancer and I hoped he’d win the battle. I send my sincerest condolences to his daughters, Taelor and Syndi, and his family and friends. Boo-yah, my brother.”
PreviousNext
Perhaps the most touching remembrance came from Rich Eisen, his longtime co-anchor on SportsCenter and current NFL Network host.
“Pray for Stuart. And his family,” Eisen said while choking back tears. “(Pray for) everybody who he loved. And that includes you, the sports fans. Even those who hated on him. He thrived on it. That’s ’cause he is who he is and was — I can’t believe it’s past tense — who he was.”
There was a moment of silence before both NFL playoff games Sunday, and at North Carolina, his alma mater, there was a moment of silence before the women’s basketball game with the video board stating, “Forever a Tar Heel.”
Following a variety of TV gigs in North Carolina and South Carolina, Scott came to ESPN2 in 1993, when that network was launched as a “hipper” version of ESPN. Scott was the host of a show called “SportsNight.” He broke free of standard Tape Head jargon, incorporating his own lingo with a decidedly hip-hop flavor.
Scott enthusiastically flung phrases like “boo yah!” “as cool as the other side of the pillow,” “holler at a playa when you see him on the street” and “call him butter, he’s on a roll,” to an audience who either loved his style or despised it.
Scott’s ability to inspire this dichotomy of opinions made him even more recognizable. While other ESPN voices who stood out (Eisen, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann) left ESPN, Scott stayed on to host a variety of shows, including “NFL Live,” “NFL Primetime,” “NBA Fastbreak”and the NBA Finals.
Scott is survived by his parents, O. Ray and Jacqueline Scott; siblings Stephen Scott, Synthia Kearney and Susan Scott; his daughters Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15; and girlfriend Kristin Spodobalski.
