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(BRISTOL, Conn.) — Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott passed away on Sunday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 49.
Scott was first diagnosed in November 2007 after doctors noticed a tumor during emergency appendectomy surgery. In 2011, he underwent chemotherapy again after the disease reappeared.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
Scott came to ESPN in 1993, working as an anchor on their flagship program SportsCenter, where during highlights he would use the phrases “Boo-ya!” or “as cool as the other side of the pillow”.
Scott would go on to anchor the network’s coverage of the NBA and NFL as well as cover several major sporting events, including the NBA Finals, World Series and Super Bowl.
At the ESPYS in July 2014, he was given the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. During his speech, he told the audience: “When you die, that does not mean you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner which you live.”
President Obama released a statement Sunday saying, “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. For much of those twenty 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.”
MORE: Stars, Fans Share Grief Over Stuart Scott’s Death
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