Stuart Scott Dies At 49 After 7-Year Battle With Cancer
In nearly every industry, there’s that one person who comes along and turns the whole thing onto its head. When it comes to sportscasting, Stuart Scott was that man. But on Sunday morning, at 49 years old, he lost his battle to cancer, ESPN reported.
Scott leaves behind a legacy. He became an anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter with the launch of ESPN2 in 1993, and quickly solidified himself as more than your typical anchor. He coined phrases like “Boo-yah” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow,” as well as “He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin’ him to school” — all of which brought a flair that hooked minority sports fans, who might have previously found it hard to connect to the all-white group of sportscasters. “He didn’t just push the envelope, he bulldozed the envelope,” former ESPN anchor Dan Patrick said in the video below. “You had white guys in their 30s, all with catchphrases. Stuart certainly wasn’t that.”
For 22 years, Scott approached his role with ESPN and in life with vigor, inspiration, talent, and ethic. A cancer diagnosis in 2007 didn’t change that. And despite undergoing chemotherapy, the cancer, of which type he chose not to say, came back twice more, in 2011 and 2013. These hardships only strengthened Scott, though. He took days off of sportscasting only to undergo treatment, after which he would train at a mixed-martial arts gym. His determination to keep on keepin on resonated with cancer patients, survivors, and sports fans alike.
“When you die, it does not mean you lose to cancer,” he said after receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance award at the 2014 ESPYs. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
That attitude translated into devotion toward his two surviving daughters Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15.