There are many people far more talented and well-spoken than I who can describe what an incredible man that Stuart Scott was and will forever be remembered as.
But, as I collected my thoughts as I tried to cope with the devastating news of his death, one memory of mine kept coming back time after time. In the 90s, Michael Jordan had a Gatorade campaign “Be Like Mike”. What made the campaign brilliant was that it was true. Any kid that was playing basketball was trying to “Be Like Mike”. As a high school student in the 90s, unlike today, you didn’t see a lot of faces that looked liked mine in sports media. The ones that you did see didn’t speak or act like you, so it was hard to relate to them. Then Stuart Scott came along, and as a young black journalist, we had our Jordan.
It wasn’t that Stu just put together a bunch of catchphrases. It was how he put them together. It was poetic. It was like watching your favorite rapper do a sportscast. It was like Nas describing a highlight. It was like an inside joke, like Stu was talking to US through the screen, but ESPN wasn’t in on the joke. No one EVER talked to US, not in sports media. Even though the majority of the athletes were black and a lot of the fans were black, no one talked to US.
This is how we communicated, and it wasn’t ghetto or stereotypical. It was just COOL. It is how the cool people talked to each other. It is how the cool people describe things; vividly, smoothly and creatively. Like a kid practicing Jordan’s fadeaway, I practiced my Stu Scott catchphrases. I wanted to be the next Stu Scott, and as I look at all the tributes to Stu today, I wasn’t the only kid who did.
When I went off to Ohio State, immediately my journalism professors wanted to change me. When I interned at a news station, I was pulled aside by the local black sports anchor and told that “my style” wouldn’t work and that I had to assimilate. I listened, but I always kept in the back of my mind that I could be myself and still succeed; because Stuart Scott did.
I am very careful about what I say about people, because I was taught you never say anything publicly, you wouldn’t say to someone’s face and I rarely regret any of my thoughts because I try to think before I speak. But, I was truly embarrassed by some of the things I said about Stuart Scott early in my BSO career. I was bitter and angry about not getting opportunities and felt the need to trash anything mainstream and that included Stu who I deemed “played out”. I was young and it wasn’t into I experience some success that I truly understood what Stuart Scott had done for minorities in sports media. Unless you are in media, you really don’t understand how difficult it is for minorities and women in a white male dominated industry. When I met him briefly, I told him this, I apologized and he just laughed at me. It was the type of laugh, that let me know I wasn’t the only one who had approached him like this over the years and there wasn’t any hard feelings. He gave me some advice, more life advice than sports advice that I’ll never forget.
In the end, “my style” ended up being the preferred style as the industry changed over the years, but that style was birth by years and years of watching a master at work.
You know the ironic thing about the the “Be Like Mike” campaign is it was an impossibility. No one was going to be “Be Like Mike”, he was an original, and that can’t be duplicated. While we all strived to “Be Like Stu”, it could never happen.
Stuart Scott was an original. There will never be another one like him, he was a shining star and we were all lucky to witness his greatness. What made Jordan great wasn’t just his dunks or athletic ability. It was his drive, his desire and his willingness to do anything to be great. Stuart Scott wasn’t great because of catchphrases, he was great because he worked as hard as anyone in the business and perfecting his craft. Think to yourself and see if you can remember a time that Stu messed up on TV? This is a man who was going through chemotherapy and doing flawless SportsCenter hours later. That desire, that drive, that HEART is what made Stuart Scott great.
There are 1000s of journalists who may have never been given an opportunity if not for Stu, may he rest in peace, because his legacy will live forever.
BOO-YAH