As we all know, Stuart Scott passed away on Sunday. The news of his passing caused countless people to feel sorrow. The definition of an icon is: a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something. Rest assured, Stuart Scott was someone who truly represented something. One of the best things that Scott said in public was when he accepted the ESPY Perseverance award named in honor of Jimmy V. “When you die it doesn’t mean that you lost to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live while you live and the manner in which you live.”
That message is one that Scott exhibited while he continued to fight cancer. A good way to measure a person’s life is by the impact that they have on others. The unique approach that he brought to ESPN was comical to some. It was absurd to others. For myself and many other young minorities that loved sports, Stuart Scott was TV gold.
When he first hit the Sportscenter scene with his patented “Booyah!” we knew that we had OUR voice. Stuart Scott was a pioneer because he didn’t waver from being himself on air. He owned the camera and it didn’t matter that he was told that his “urban” style of broadcasting was not going to work. Sportscenter became a show that was even more fun to watch because we never knew what kind of crazy saying was going to come from Stuart. He connected with us because he spoke just like us. The success that he generated made it acceptable to talk on air just the same as we do in the barbershop.
ESPN knew that Scott was onto something and featured him more frequently. He became a star. Many of his colleagues have talked about how they were on the road and people would be so excited to talk to Scott. They were even more happy when he took the time to speak to them. In my eyes, Scott was an icon because he had a positive effect on a whole demographic. He was the perfect example of how a sportscaster can be cool with the players and relate to them. The players loved him for it and young aspiring journalist such as myself looked up to him.
I never got to work with Stuart Scott but I had the privilege of meeting him on the field at Candlestick Park during a San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals Monday Night Football game. At the time, I had my own blog and wasn’t really sure if I could make a career out of writing. I introduced myself and told him how I wanted to make a move into the media industry. Despite being the star that he was, he took the time to offer me words of encouragement. He simply said: “Just do it!”
Stuart Scott was an inspiration to so many people. He had an impact on future, past and present athletes. Keyshawn Johnson fought back tears as he spoke about how Scott helped him. “I remember back in my rookie year when I was drafted in the NFL, the first commercial that I shot was with Stu and Kobe. One of the first things that he told me when I took this job was to not change who I was. He told me to be exactly who I was supposed to be. Looking at him and knowing that he was able to bring the hip hop culture and urban view to broadcasting gave me the hope to know that I didn’t have to be some corporate guy and sit there and talk a certain way.”
Chris Carter was another former athlete that Scott helped transition into the media world. Carter shared his thoughts as he reflected on someone that he called a role model. “As a player, as an athlete, you don’t like to think it but you have favorites when you are dealing with the media. He was a favorite because he was so fair. As a media person, he was a role model. He talked on Sportscenter like me and my friends talked. He did it his way and was great at it. For me, before he became a colleague, he was a role model for me and hundreds of other African American journalist and athletes who wanted to be legitimate and wanted people to take what we say seriously. There never will be another Stu Scott. There’s no next man up at ESPN. There will never be another.”
Kobe Bryant was one of Scott’s favorite athletes. He took the time to jump on ESPN radio and talk about how he felt about the loss of a friend. “He was an amazing person aside from the fact that he was phenomenal at what he did. He was a trailblazer. He would always joke with me about how my career in the NBA went well but that it would have gone better if I would have went to North Carolina.” Bryant continued; “I used to imagine him calling my highlights when I was younger. He was referencing a lot of things that I was familiar with. He took lines from hip hop songs and integrated them into the broadcast. I just wanted to hear him talk when I first met him. It was easy to like him because we had so much in common like culture and personal experiences.”
Even Barack Obama, the President of United States found it necessary to share his thoughts on Scott. It’s not often that a sportscaster has that kind of impact. This shows you just how much Stuart Scott’s life mattered. Many of the teams in the NFL and NBA held a moment of silence in honor of Stuart Scott before the games started. Michael Wilbon of ESPN said it best; “Stuart Scott changed the way we talked about sports, and in doing so put himself on ESPN’s Mount Rushmore.”
Stuart Scott was not only a role model because of his sports contributions. He was also a role model for fathers. Everyone that talked about him described how much he loved his two daughters and how he would light up when he talked about them. There was no doubt that they were his heart. He was a great broadcaster and did things that no one had done before, but the thing that he cherished more than anything else was being a father.
Son. Brother. Friend. Athlete. Broadcaster. I am all of these..but BEST thing I will EVER be..is Dad 2 my angels. pic.twitter.com/pTnZpcik5W — Stuart Scott (@StuartScott) June 15, 2014
A few of his colleagues at ESPN also fought cancer. Robin Roberts said that Scott was an inspiration to her and that she admired how hard he fought. Merrill Hoge had to fight cancer twice. He said that getting diagnosed with the cancer the second time gave him an even more horrible feeling than the first time. He couldn’t fathom the strength that it must haven taken for Scott to fight the cancer three times like Stuart had.
The way that he continued to live and find the energy to do so will be an inspiration to anyone who is fighting a terminal illness. He stayed positive despite the circumstances. The world lost an icon when Stuart Scott passed away. He was symbol of what it is like to believe in something, to have conviction.
Stuart Scott showed us how we need to live everyday to the fullest and to cherish the things that are most important to us. He showed us the power of positive thinking and how it can have a great impact on others, some of which we may never get to meet. It was truly a blessing to have Stuart Scott in our lives and speaking to us through the TV as we watched Sportscenter.
Follow on Twitter: @TDavenport_PPI
