Last Updated on August 9, 2021
Revolutionary sports anchor Stuart Scott has died at the age of 49, after a seven-year battle against cancer. His bravery, courage and strength through his fight inspired millions across the world.
Long before the world discovered his singular talent, many of us here at Growing Bolder knew him. In fact, our founder and CEO Marc Middleton was part of the team that decided to give Stuart his very first job in sports journalism at WESH-TV in Orlando. It was the beginning of a long friendship for both Marc and Growing Bolder’s Wendy Chioji, herself a two-time cancer survivor battling a recurrence again, with Stuart.
Last year, Marc and Wendy were a part of a team of cancer survivors and warriors called Survivor Summit who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. On their trip to the top, they paused to pay tribute to Stuart, along with former LIVESTRONG CEO Doug Ulman, another long-time friend of Stuart’s. See the message they had to share with their friend from the roof of Africa.
When Stu saw this message, he tweeted the link to his 500,000 followers.
We’re heartbroken that Stu has lost his battle but inspired by the way in which he fought and the message of hope he delivered to millions worldwide. All of us here at Growing Bolder send our love and prayers to Stuart’s two daughters, his family and friends and the legions of fans around the world who loved him.
This week, Marc appeared on ESPN580 in Orlando to talk about Stuart’s first days in sports broadcasting and what it was Marc saw in the young news reporter that made him decide to give him a shot at sports. Plus, Marc reveals how he inspired Stuart to be Stuart, despite the hate mail the station was receiving following his first broadcasts.
Hours after his death was announced, Wendy paid tribute to Stu in a blog post, sharing stories about the early days of their friendship, including the time she left him speechless on air. Click here to read her post.
After announcing Stuart’s death the morning of Jan. 4, ESPN shared a wonderful tribute to their friend and colleague. Take a moment to see how he changed sports forever.
