Sad news. Stuart Scott, longtime anchor for ESPN, has died at the age of 49, after several years of fighting cancer. He leaves behind two teenage daughters, Taelor and Sydni.
Stuart’s battle with cancer began in 2007 when he became ill while covering a Monday night football game. What began as an emergency appendectomy turned out to be the beginning of a battle with an illness that nearly drained all of his energy.
“I just got out the hospital this past Friday,” said Scott at the ESPY Awards last year. The sports anchor was accepting the Jimmy V. Award for Perseverance for his relentless spirit during the fight. “Seven-day stay. Man, I crashed. I had liver complications. I had kidney failure. I had four surgeries in a span of seven days. … As of Sunday, I didn’t even know if I could make it here.”
Although exhausted, Stuart told attendees that his daughters gave him strength to carry on. “The best thing I have ever done, the best thing I will ever do, is be a dad to Taelor and Sydni,” said the anchor. “I can’t ever give up because I can’t leave my daughters. Yes, sometimes I embarrass them. Sometimes they think I’m a tyrant. …But Taelor and Sydni, I love you guys more than I will ever be able to express. You two are my heartbeat.”
Check out Scott’s touching speech here.
Photo: Getty Images
