(ATR) Craig Sager makes his living reporting on sporting battles, whether it’s the NBA, the Olympics or the myriad of other events he’s covered in a career that has spanned more than 40 years.
Now he's the one making news after a moving speech on his own battle against leukemia.
Sager, wearing one of his trademark colorful outfits, made the speech after being honored as the latest recipient of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYS, ESPN's annual awards show, on July 13. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son Beau to cancer, presented the award to Sager.
"I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the marrow out of life as life sucks the marrow out of me," Sager said. "I will live my life full of love and full of fun. It's the only way I know how."
Click here to watch his entire speech.
The sports network says The Jimmy V Award, which was first handed out in 2007, is given to a sports person who has "overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination".
It is named for Jim Valvano, who won a college basketball title in 1983 and ten years later, gave an emotional acceptance speech after being awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first-ever ESPYS.
Valvano’s words "Don’t Give Up… Don’t Ever Give Up!" would soon become a part of American culture. He died of bone cancer, aged 47, just eight weeks after the speech.
The 65-year-old Sager was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2014. After being treated with both chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, the cancer went into remission.
He returned to his primary job as sideline reporter for TNT’s NBA coverage in March 2015.But the cancer has returned twice since, once in 2015 and again early this year.
Sager is still scheduled to work as a sideline reporter at the Rio Olympics, covering the U.S. men’s basketball games for NBC. He also covered basketball at both the Beijing and London Games.
Written by Gerard Farek
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