Table Of ContentBlue Rider Press, a Penguin Random House imprint
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China
penguin.com
A Penguin Random House Company
Copyright © 2015 by Stuart Scott
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for
buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any
form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
Blue Rider Press and the Blue Rider Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
This page is an extension of this copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Scott, Stuart, 1965–2015.
Every day I fight / Stuart Scott, Larry Platt.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-698-19100-6
1. Scott, Stuart, 1965–2015. 2. Sportscasters—United States—Biography. 3. Cancer—Patients—United States—Biography. I. Platt, Larry. II. Title.
GV742.42.S35A3 2015 2015002612
070.4‘49796092—dc23
[B]
About the front jacket photograph: Stuart Scott sat for Dear World, a portrait project founded by Robert X. Fogarty. In his distinct message-on-skin
style, Fogarty asks each subject to share a message about something or to someone they love.
Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the
experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.
Version_1
CONTENTS
Frontispiece
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE | FATHER’S DAY
CHAPTER TWO | TAKING HITS
CHAPTER THREE | ALPHA MAN
CHAPTER FOUR | GOTTA BE ME
CHAPTER FIVE | BOOMER BETTER KEEP UP
CHAPTER SIX | DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE
CHAPTER SEVEN | I WON’T BE HERE FOR MY DAUGHTERS
CHAPTER EIGHT | NEVER DIE EASY
CHAPTER NINE | NOW WHAT?
CHAPTER TEN | BACK IN THE RING
CHAPTER ELEVEN | TWO DATES AND A DASH
CHAPTER TWELVE | POUNDING THE ROCK
CHAPTER THIRTEEN | YOU BEAT CANCER BY HOW YOU LIVE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN | DAD, IS THIS IT?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN | BASKING IN THE GLOW OF THE NOW
EPILOGUE
Photos
Acknowledgments
Permissions
Photo Credits
Index
About the Authors
For Taelor and Sydni
Y
es, Stuart Scott was as cool as the other side of the pillow. But he was so much more
than the hippest sports journalist ever. It wasn’t just his unique catchphrases that set
him apart. Stu was also one of the most authentic people I have ever been blessed to know.
Simply put, he was the real deal on and off camera. We met in 1993. I had been at ESPN
for a few years by then, and Stu was hired to be an anchor for the launch of ESPN2. Our
cool factor went off the charts with Stu roaming the halls and performing “Rapper’s
Delight” on karaoke nights. He brought a spirit and a style that had never been seen, never
been felt before, at ESPN.
Stu and I hit it off right away and discovered we had a lot in common. We both were
from the South, were college hoops fanatics, and were the youngest of four children in our
families. It was apparent that Stu came from a good, loving, and supportive family. Soon
he started a family of his own. Taelor and Sydni were his world. Oh, how he loved being
their dad. He proudly showed us their pictures as they grew into beautiful, talented young
women. He’d whip out his phone and show us the latest video of them performing. Taelor
playing the guitar, Sydni singing. Nothing, and I mean nothing, made Stu happier or
brought him more pure joy.
Later Stu and I shared something else in common. Cancer. But that never was the focus
of our conversations. We didn’t feel the need to talk about it. There’s an unspoken
language and understanding between those facing cancer. You focus on the fight, not the
fright. Every day he fought for his girls… before and after he became ill. I’ll never forget
when his cancer returned for a third time. I went with him to the gym to watch him train.
He had taken up martial arts and cross-training workouts. In the midst of grueling
chemotherapy treatments, it was his way to treat his body as well as his spirit. The
punches and kicks he threw were physical as well as symbolic. It was Stu’s way of
continuing to battle, to literally kick cancer’s you-know-what! After the workout, he began
bragging about Taelor and Sydni. Then he told me: “I want to be here because I don’t want
some other dude walking my daughters down the aisle at their weddings.” Those girls
gave Stu purpose in his life and his fight.
Though the outcome was not what we wanted, not what we prayed for, Stu’s fight was
every bit as valiant and meaningful. Like many, I remain in awe of how he stared cancer
smack-dab in the face. Sitting in the audience at the ESPYs, I marveled at how he found
the strength to get out of his hospital bed and take that stage. It was incredibly fitting that
he received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. Jim Valvano and Stuart Scott were cut
from the same cloth. Two dynamic men who embraced life and changed lives. That night
at the ESPYs, Stu must have been the bus driver, cuz he was takin’ us to school. He
delivered an invaluable lesson for the ages: “When you die, it does not mean that you lose
to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you
live.” His words were as raw, honest, and powerful as the man himself.
Stu’s unshakable courage was inspirational. Cancer never defined him; it’s not his life’s
story but rather a chapter in his life’s story. You’ll see in these beautifully written pages
that he set a stellar example for all of us in so many aspects of life. Stu said when you’re
too tired to fight, rest and let someone else fight for you. My dear friend, you can rest now,
and we will continue to fight for you.
ROBIN ROBERTS
