A Legend of the NFL Journalism Team Recently Passes Away
With a heavy heart, the world learns about the recent passing of journalist, Chris Mortensen. He was a giant in the world of NFL journalism. Mortensen unfortunately, passed away on Sunday. March 3rd. The cause of his death has however not been disclosed to the public. Although, it is known that he unfortunately had been battling with stage-four throat cancer since 2016. Which in fact, from this point he later retired from ESPN after the 2023 NFL Draft.
He was a very resilient and admired journalist and insider who always had a smile on his face and who would report every detail and overall was very recognized for his outstanding skills within the industry. According to Norby Williamson, executive editor and head of studio production for ESPN, he stated on Sunday, the following:
His credibility, attention to detail and reporting skills captured our news and information to a new level.
This shows how his team really looked up to him and his talent and overall how dedicated he was in all of his work trajectory. He portrayed courage, will, desire, strength, and passion for everything he did and his accomplishments in life, that being whether it was professional or personal. Essentially, for both aspects of his life he demonstrated persistence and achievements because he never gave up.
Chris Mortensen’s Professional Journey
Mortensen was an award-winning journalist and NFL insider for ESPN. He formed part of ESPN back in 1991, he quickly gained a positive reputation in term of being one of the most trusted football insiders, journalist and reporters of the sports media. Before his job at ESPN, he used to work for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In this particular job, he covered that Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. He worked with this company from 1983 to 1990.
Moreover, in 1987 during his career journey, he won the 1987 George Polk Award for completing a 110-page paper called, “Ignoring the Rules” which this particular paper was about amateur sports and college athletes. He really had a passion for writing and informing people about sports, which is a topic he really enjoyed and loved. And essentially through his information and skills in effectively reporting these topics to the world, he reflected that passion he had.
A lot of his loved ones had many positive things to say about Mortensen. Even the ESPN chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, said the following statement:
Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate. 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 are with his loved ones.
Challenges Turned Into Fuel to Keep Going Forward in Life
Despite his rough journey with cancer, he kept fighting for his life and never gave up. He did mention that the disease taught him a lot. According to NBC sports he said,
It’s so personal. When [I] look in the mirror, I can’t recognize myself. You realize you’ll never be the same, for good reasons. You really learn how to treasure life. You learn to love every day. I get up every day, Thank you Lord. Let’s have some fun today. Let’s enjoy it.
This being said, the challenges he was enduring made him to further appreciate life and motivated him to keep going, and this showed his grace and resilience as an individual. Fast-forward, in September 2023, Mortensen said he would step away from his role at ESPN in order to focus on what he said, “my health, family and faith.” Overall, he was a person that motivated many and that definitely left a remarkable legacy for the world to see of courage, persistence, and gratefulness. He will never be forgotten to his family, his team and the world.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
Yahoo! Sports: Longtime ESPN journalist, NFL reporter Chris Mortensen dies at 72
CNN Business: Chris Mortensen, longtime NFL insider for ESPN, dies at 72
NBC Sports: FMIA Finale: Onward
Fox News: Chris Mortensen tributes pour in from Peyton Manning, others in NFL world: “Heartbroken”
Featured Image Courtesy of fdecomite Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jonathan Moreau Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
