ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale will not appear on television for the remainder of the season after he was advised to undergo surgery on his vocal cords.
The 82-year-old Vitale, a staple of college basketball broadcasts for more than four decades, has been on vocal rest for the past three weeks due to dysplasia and ulcerated lesions of the vocal cords. He will need to stay on vocal rest in preparation for surgery, to be performed sometime in the near future.
Vitale wrote in a blog post Monday that he is optimistic he will be able to return at full strength for the 2022-23 season.
Just landed in Sarasota from Boston .. Didn’t get the news I wanted as I was praying to be at courtside for ??@MarchMadnessMBB? . However good news is Dr Zeitels who is the best in dealing with the vocal cords is optimistic about my future. https://t.co/DDBt2vm8gT
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) January 24, 2022
“While I’m heartbroken that I won’t appear on ESPN for the rest of this season, I’m encouraged by the progress,” Vitale said.
Vitale was diagnosed with melanoma last August and lymphoma the following October. He has been undergoing chemotherapy to treat the cancer.
“Dick Vitale is rightfully synonymous with college basketball, and his absence from the telecasts the rest of the season will leave an irreplaceable void,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “We at ESPN join the millions of fans who can’t wait to have him back calling games from inside arenas whenever he is ready.”
In 2008, Vitale was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He coached the University of Detroit from 1973-77, compiling a 79-29 record, and coached the NBA’s Detroit Pistons for parts of two seasons from 1978-80, finishing 34-60.
–Field Level Media