Longtime ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale is cancer-free after his fourth battle against the disease in three years. Vitale announced the news on social media.
“SANTA CLAUS came early as Dr Rick Brown called & said that my PET SCAN at 7 AM came back CLEAN OF CANCER!” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “OMG thanks so much to ALL of YOU for your 🙏🙏🙏. Yes I’m cutting the nets down baby it’s my National Championship!”
“Wow I am absolutely blown away by the love from so many – thanks for caring as I hope all of u that know someone with cancer to extend,” he wrote in a second tweet. “🙏🙏🙏 & words of encouragement . Means so much! Remind them to always THINK POSITIVE & HAVE FAITH!”
Vitale was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021, months after he underwent surgery to remove melanoma. In 2023 he was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and received radiation treatment.
He lost his ability to speak for a few months at a time throughout treatment, something Vitale later said was difficult. “[Talking has] been my livelihood … Here’s what I’m known for, being a talkative kind of guy, going out, having fun,” he told Graham Besinger in 2022. “Not only just the games, but all my life … And I missed that. I missed being me. I felt trapped. I felt trapped. I couldn’t express myself. I just felt trapped.”
After coaching at the University of Detroit for four years, Vitale was named head coach of the Pistons in 1978. He was fired from the team 12 games into the 1979-1980 season.
Vitale joined ESPN as an analyst the same year and has been with the network ever since.
