We in the sports world were all shocked to hear of the death of a sports icon, Stuart Scott.

Scott was beloved by his colleagues and athletes and was known as a true family man. On his Twitter page bio it said, “I most importantly love my two great daughters, being a dad is the best, no close second.”

Scott first started at ESPN in 1993 as an anchor for Sports Smash, a short sportscast twice an hour on ESPN2’s Sports Night program. After Keith Olbermen left for ESPN’s SportsCenter, Stuart took his place as the anchor for Sports Smash.

Stuart came in with his own way of reporting the daily sports news. He combined hip-hop culture and sports in a way like no other. Stuart Scott was able to communicate with younger people, and make you feel like you were part of the show. He referenced pop culture during his reports using whatever was popular at the time. He was known to come up with many catch phrases such as “cool as the other side of the pillow,” “Boo-yah,” and “don’t hate the playa, hate the game.”

Michael Jordan said it best in a statement he sent to ESPN on Stuart Scott’s passing. “He was truly a trailblazer in his field, and by refusing to change his style, made himself into a star.”  We have never seen anyone before like Stuart.

At the time Stuart was taking a risk reporting in this manner. No one had ever seen reporting like this. There were many people who did not like his style of reporting. ESPN received a lot of hate mail from people who resented his color, his hip-hop style, or his generation. Now we watch Sports Center and when people do these things we think nothing of it. But at the time this was considered a big risk to report in this way.

At the time there were not very many African American sports reporters on television. When he came along, he served as a voice for young African American sports fans. He served as an inspiration to young African Americans who maybe wanted to join the sports business.

Scott was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer in 2007. After he had surgery, they recommended preventive chemotherapy. Stuart still worked out while undergoing chemotherapy. The cancer returned in 2011, but it eventually went back into remission. He was again diagnosed with cancer on January 14, 2013 . After chemo, Scott would do mixed martial arts or a P90X workout regimen. Scott never wanted to know what stage of cancer he was in.

In the summer of 2014, Scott was awarded the Jimmy V Award at the ESPY’s for his courage during his ongoing fight against cancer. Scott gave a speech to remember while excepting his award. He said, “Taelor and Sydni, I love you guys more than I will ever be able to express. You two are my heartbeat. I am standing on this stage tonight because of you… When you die, it does not mean you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.” He ended the speech by saying, “Have a great rest of your night, have a great rest of your life.”

Scott sadly passed away on the morning of January 3, 2014. The news was emotionally reported across many of the networks. The news was most notably reported by colleagues of his, Hannah Storm and a former colleague of his at ESPN, Rich Eisen. They emotionally shared their remembrances of Stuart. All day long everyone shared their prayers and condolences for the Scott family. Others shared fond memories of Scott as well.

That evening colleagues and close friends, Scott Van Pelt and Steve Levy, did an episode of SportsCenter in his honor.  ESPN left a open chair in the studio in his honor.

There were moments of silence held at the days’ NFL and NBA games, as well as at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina basketball game. Athletes wrote messages on their shoes during their games.

Barack Obama released a statement on Stuart Scott.

“I will miss Stuart Scott. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our sports teams and the day’s best plays. For much of those twenty years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family – but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and colleagues.”

Stuart will be missed by many, and may he rest in peace.