ESPN anchor Randy Scott is paying tribute to one of the network’s own. As the Daily Mail reported, Scott announced the death of colleague Zach Jones, who worked as a research manager at ESPN. Jones, who worked at ESPN for 15 years, died at the age of 41 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
“ESPN lost one of our own yesterday. Research manager Zach Jones died Sunday after a two-year fight with colorectal cancer that had metastasized before his diagnosis,’ Scott said on Sunday as the network showcased a photo of Jones in the background with his wife, Amber, and 10-year-old son, Silas. “You may have never seen him on your screens, but you saw his work on our live golf coverage, on our women’s college basketball coverage or on any of our SportsCenter shows.”
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Scott explained that Jones joined the team in 2010 as a researcher and he quickly rose through the ranks. The SportsCenter anchor added that the late staffer “got married here” and “started a family” during his time with ESPN. He went on to pay tribute to Jones, saying that he was a graduate of Stanford University and loved to golf. Most importantly, he loved his wife and son, who turned 10 years old in November.
Scott, who was visibly emotional during the segment, added, “I saw Zach in the cafeteria just a couple of weeks ago, he was hopeful and he was also reflective. He said he just wanted his family to be ok after a recent move to Texas. He fought like hell. He gets to rest now. We love you buddy.” You can see Scott’s full tribute here.
Jones died just three days before Christmas after a two-year battle with colorectal cancer. He leaves behind a wife, Amber, and a son, Silas. In addition to Scott, many others in the ESPN family have paid tribute to the late research manager, including Gregg Colli and Kevin Negandhi.