Daughters' Touching Tribute to Late ESPN Anchor Dad
When ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott died of cancer last year at age 49, President Obama said he “inspired us — with courage and love.” But perhaps the most touching tributes to the longtime SportsCenter anchor are the video and letter his two daughters, his “heartbeats,” released Monday on the one-year anniversary of his death.
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In the letter, published on the website Dear World, 20-year-old Taelor and 16-year-old Sydni Scott told their dad, “You lived your life with a fierce sense of authenticity, passion and competitiveness, giving it your all and reaching for the best in everything you did. When you were diagnosed with cancer, you showed the world how to fight with that same fierce passion, instilling a sense of hope and inspiration to so many.”
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Stuart, whose “Booyah!” expression became his personal catchphrase, was undergoing an emergency appendectomy in 2007 when doctors discovered a malignant tumor.
The sports personality, known for his pop culture references and love of rap music, underwent chemotherapy, more surgeries and experimental treatments, but his cancer reportedly recurred several times. To stay strong, Stuart engaged in mixed martial arts and cross-training workouts.
“Stage 1, 2 or 8, it doesn’t matter,” Stuart told the New York Times in 2014. “I’m trying to fight it the best I can.”
In their YouTube video, which racked up more than 3,000 views in a matter of hours, Stuart’s daughters shared favorite moments with their dad. Sydni remembers reading Stuart’s book about battling cancer, “Every Day I Fight,” (published in March) and feeling, “When I finish the book, I know that it’s the last thing that he’ll ever say to me.”
Taelor thanks her dad for “liking me.” She says, “For all the times people haven’t really liked me, he really liked my personality.”
Perhaps the most inspirational part of the video is the girls’ memory of Stuart’s philosophy of living and, ultimately, dying from cancer.
“When you die it does not mean you lose to cancer,” Stuart would say. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live.”
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