ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Randy Scott on Monday announced the death of research manager Zach Jones at age 41, two years after he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that had already spread. (Watch the video below.)
Scott kept it together as he discussed his colleague’s professional details ― his 14 years of service at the sports network that included work on golf coverage, women’s basketball and “SportsCenter.”
But when Scott remembered the personal side of Jones’ life in his tenure at ESPN, he struggled to hold back tears.
“He got married here. He started a family here,” Scott said. “The Stanford graduate loved the Cardinal and he loved golf. He loved his wife, Amber. And he loved his son, Silas, who turned 10 last month — and he lost his dad three days before Christmas.”
”I saw Zach in the cafeteria just a couple of weeks ago,” Scott continued. “He was hopeful, but he was also reflective. He said he just wanted his family to be OK after a recent move to Texas. He fought like hell. He gets to rest now. We love you, buddy.”
ESPN was recently rocked by the cancer diagnosis of NFL analyst and Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss, who is on leave from the sports network after a mass was removed from his bile duct. He is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
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Next month ESPN will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of beloved “SportsCenter” anchor Stuart Scott (no relation to Randy Scott). Scott’s slang and use of catch phrases like “cool as the other side of the pillow” made him a sportscasting legend. He died from cancer at age 49.