ESPN Anchor Stuart Scott Dies After Long Battle With Cancer
Longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott died Sunday morning after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 49.
News of the beloved anchor's death swept the Internet like wildfire Sunday shortly after the network made the announcement.
"While the grief is deep at ESPN over the death of Stuart Scott, so is our gratitude. He was as popular on-campus as he was in the airports he passed through and on the sidelines he worked over the last 22 years. He brought so much to the party, and he will continue to do so, through the people he inspired, and the language that he liberated, and the audience that will remember him," the network noted.
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Scott joined ESPN in 1993 as the host of ESPN2's "SportsNight" program. He later became one of the most popular hosts of the networks flagship program "SportsCenter" where he made a number of catchphrases like "As cool as the other side of the pillow" famous.
"Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man – from his signature 'Boo-Yah! to 'As cool as the other side of the pillow' to 'He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin' him to school,'" noted the network.
We are heartbroken to report that Stuart Scott has died after a long fight with cancer. He was 49. pic.twitter.com/aI0TGwFqGU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 4, 2015"His contributions to the sports lexicon are writ large. But they are only one aspect of his legacy. When he passed away, he left behind so much more. He inspired his colleagues with his sheer talent, his work ethic and his devotion to his daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15. He defied convention and criticism to help bring this network into a new century. He spoke to the very athletes he was talking about with a flair and a style that ESPN president John Skipper says, 'changed everything,'" said the network.
"He didn't just push the envelope," sports radio host and former ESPN anchor Dan Patrick told ESPN. "He bulldozed it."
Scott never revealed what kind of cancer he was battling but it first appeared during an emergency appendectomy in 2007.
Last summer, he received a standing ovation during his acceptance of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2014 ESPY Awards and he hinted at his uncertain future.
"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer," he said. "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."
You can watch his moving speech below:
