This morning, ESPN confirmed that longtime sportscaster Stuart Scott had died from cancer in a hospital near Hartford, Connecticut. The 49-year-old, who joined the network in 1993, was best known for his work on SportsCenter, where his enthusiastic analysis and signature catchphrases made him an audience favorite and earned him a Saturday Night Live parody. As news of Scott’s death spread on Sunday, his colleagues, fans, and President Obama said their good-byes.
On ESPN, Hannah Storm was the first to inform the channel’s viewers of Scott’s death:
On NFL GameDay, Scott’s former SportsCenter partner Rich Eisen delivered a similarly emotional tribute:
ESPN president John Skipper added: “ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott. 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.”
