By Burtland Dixon

Sports Editor

The year was 1993 when ESPN hired what turned out to be one of their most special employees to this day. The sports world was certainly unprepared for what was to come next, but it was surely overdue.

There are some people in life who seem to just get it, whatever it may be, and Stuart Scott is truly one of those people. From his catchphrases to his fervor towards whatever he was doing, audiences who tuned in to watch him discuss sports always walked away satisfied.

As the years went by during his stint at ESPN, Stuart’s popularity began rising gradually. Not only did he entertain viewers with his transcendent style of anchoring, he also inspired colleagues as well as many others who aspired to having a career in sports media. This is due to the fact that no one else on-air prior to Stuart had the same commentating style as him. No one brought that fresh in your face vocabulary, such as “Boo-Yah!” or “Just call him butter cause he’s on a roll.” Stuart was one of a kind.

“Stuart was a pioneer, he brought a style to sports commentary that was exciting and upbeat, and he also took pride in what he did,” fourth-year CSUSM student, Chris Melendez, said.

A pioneer is a precise description of Stuart Scott. Of course there were other Black Americans broadcasting on-air about sports, but Stuart stepped outside the repetitive lanes that all these anchors were going down and ended up creating his own. Stuart Scott made talking about sports more relatable to people of color. He made the way that a group of Black Americans would talk about sports only among themselves, acceptable to talk about with a person of any color.

We do not truly know if Stuart’s goal was to open doors for mankind as a whole, but he did it whether he was planning to or not. Just the way he spoke brought people of different backgrounds closer together. Tragically in 2007, the sports world stopped as Stuart was first diagnosed with cancer. He fought through it and thought he was clear of cancer up until 2011 when he was diagnosed again. Having battled through it once more, Stuart thought the coast was clear up until 2013 where it had sprung up again. On Jan.4, 2015, Stuart Scott unfortunately lost his fight against cancer.

During his amazing career he had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in sports such as Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Tiger Woods. One does not simply get in the same room with star-studded talents such as Michael Jordan and get to ask them questions without being an established individual. That is just what he was, established. He will be remembered for many things, but not just for being “As cool as the other side of pillow,” another catchphrase he brought to pop culture, but for being a trailblazer and a believing in being himself.