[ad_1]
Longtime ESPN commentator Chris Mortensen has died at age 72, the cable sports network announced Sunday.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally loved as a hard-working and supportive teammate,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said in a social media statement. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts go out to his loved ones.”
mortensen retired last April having covered his 33rd NFL draft. Since he started at ESPN in 1991, he has reported for the network’s largest NFL broadcast programs as well as the SportsCenter “Inside the Huddle” segment.
Mortensen, who had battled esophageal cancer for years, wrote in X in September that he had decided to focus on his health, his family and his faith. She had initially taken a leave of absence after announcing her diagnosis in early 2016.
“The gratitude and humility are overwhelming. It is not a classic retirement. I will still be here talking about baseball,” he wrote about his retirement. “It’s about time. God bless you all.”
Before his iconic career as a sportscaster, Mortensen covered the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons and the NFL for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, winning a George Polk Award in 1987 for his reporting. He later covered the NFL for The National Sports Daily, a now-defunct newspaper, before joining ESPN.
In 1991, he published a book, “Playing Forever: How One Man Stopped the Mafia from Sinking Their Hooks into Professional Football.”
Mortensen is survived by his wife, Micki Mortensen, and a son, Alex Mortensen, who is a football coach and former professional quarterback.
[ad_2]
Source link