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ESPN lost one of their own this week.
On Monday, Dec. 23, SportsCenter anchor Randy Scott announced the death of colleague Zach Jones during a broadcast.
Jones, a research manager, died on Sunday, Dec. 22 at age 41 after two years of treatment for colorectal cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Amber, and his 10-year-old son Silas.
“You may have never seen him on your screens, but you saw his work on our live golf coverage or women’s college basketball coverage, or on any of our SportsCenter shows,” Scott said.
Per the anchor, Jones came to work at ESPN in 2010 as a researcher before moving to the management team in 2018.
During his 15 years at the company, he got married and started a family.
“The Stanford graduate loved the Cardinal and he loved golf,” Scott tearfully added. “He loved his wife, Amber, and he loved his son, Silas, who turned 10 last month, and who lost his dad three days before Christmas.”
The anchor recalled a recent interaction with Jones, during which he said his late friend was “hopeful” and “reflective.”
Scott shared, “He said he just wanted his family to be okay after a recent move to Texas. He fought like hell. He gets to rest now. We love you buddy.”
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CBS Sports researcher Doug Clawson shared his sympathies on social media, writing, “So sad to hear of Zach’s passing. I was fortunate to work with Zach for many years. What a wonderful, joyful person. Grateful knowing Zach is resting in heaven after his courageous battle.”
ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell also shared her condolences. “Beyond his impressive contributions elsewhere, Zach provided the data backbone to Fantasy Football Now,” she wrote of her late colleague. “Kind, thoughtful and sharp as they come, Zach made research ‘fun’ for us.”
Meanwhile, ESPN producer Paul Hembekides called Jones a “a dedicated husband, father, mentor, and friend” and shared a link to a donation page in support of his family.
The page states that Jones was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer at 39 years old after having no family history of colon cancer and no genetic dispositions to cancer.