ESPN anchor Randy Scott choked back tears on air after announcing the tragic death of his colleague Zach Jones, who passed away just days before Christmas at the age of 41.
Jones, who spent 15 years at ESPN but worked as a research manager for the network before passing away Sunday after a two-year battle with colorectal cancer.
He leaves behind his wife Amber and 10-year-old son Silas.
SportsCenter host Scott confirmed the devastating news during Monday’s edition of the show while paying an emotional tribute to Jones, describing his late colleague as “one of us.”
‘ESPN lost one of our own yesterday. “Research director Zach Jones died Sunday after a two-year battle with colorectal cancer that had metastasized before his diagnosis,” he said.
‘You may have never seen him on your screens, but you saw his work on our live golf coverage, our women’s college basketball coverage or any of our SportsCenter shows.
ESPN staffer Zach Jones tragically died at age 41 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
‘He came here in 2010 as a researcher and joined the management team of the statistics and information group in 2018, but more important than that… he got married here. He started a family here.
Scott then continued before becoming visibly emotional: ‘The Stanford graduate loved the Cardinal and he loved golf. He loved his wife Amber, he loved his son Silas, who turned 10 last month and lost his father three days before Christmas.
“I saw Zach in the cafeteria just a couple of weeks ago, he was hopeful and also thoughtful,” she added. ‘He said he just wanted his family to be okay after recently moving to Texas.
‘He fought like hell. Now you can rest. We love you friend.’
Another SportsCenter anchor, Kevin Negandhi, paid his respects to Jones on social media following news of his death.
“May you rest in peace Zach,” Negandhi wrote alongside a photo of Jones and his family.
‘A devoted father who loved golf, the Chargers and his family. He was a fantastic investigator and had the perfect demeanor for television. He will be missed by many. Sending all our love to his wife, son and family. Fuck cancer.