After numerous cancer battles, legendary ESPN announcer Dick Vitale is nearly ready to return to the network and call a college basketball game once again.
Vitale announced on social media on Wednesday that his vocal cords are cancer free. He said his doctor now feels he “can return to my love of being at courtside for ESPN.”
Just had scope of my vocal cords & I was very emotional with the great report by Dr ZEITELS . He said the vocal cords are cancer free & he feels I can return to my love of being at courtside for @espn . pic.twitter.com/r4tJHcTiMF
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) January 8, 2025
This cancer battle was just the latest that Vitale has gone through in recent years. He was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2021, and then with lymphoma a few months later. He then announced in July 2023 that he had been , which he overcame a few months later. But then last summer, Vitale announced that he had been diagnosed with . He’s been recovering from that ever since, and he underwent .
Vitale has largely been away from ESPN amid his fights with cancer, but he returned briefly in 2021 to an .
Vitale has been at ESPN almost since the beginning, and has been a staple in the sport for decades. He called the very first basketball game for the network after it launched, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
“It will take more time before I get the strength back in my voice,” he . “The 35 radiation treatments I had for my vocal cord cancer wiped out the cancer but created some problems to my vocal cords. … I miss so much the entire college spirit at the games as I always love being able to share time with the players, coaches, fans, media and especially my ESPN colleagues.”
When Vitale will get to make his return to the broadcast booth is still unclear. Though if Vitale is ready and willing, expect ESPN to move quickly in getting him back on the call.