Cancer Didn't Stop Stuart Scott From Delivering Heartfelt ESPYs Speech
ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott never allowed cancer to dictate his life.
Scott received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at Wednesday’s ESPY Awards for his strength demonstrated throughout an ongoing battle with cancer since 2007. Scott took the stage to give an honest speech regarding his experience with cancer and thanked his fans, friends, colleagues and family for fighting for him when he didn’t have the energy to do so himself.
“You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live,” he said. “So live, live, fight like hell, and when you get too tired to fight, then lay down and rest and let somebody else fight for you.”
The Jimmy V award is named for Jim Valvano, the late American college basketball coach who lost his battle to bone cancer in 1993. In Scott’s speech, he quoted Valvano’s 1993 Espy Awards speech, saying, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”
Scott also thanked his daughters. “I can’t ever give up, because I can’t ever leave my daughters,” he said. At the conclusion of his speech, his daughter Sydney joined him on stage for a heartfelt embrace, met with a standing ovation.
