A new ESPN 30 for 30 film details the life and career of pioneering sportscaster Stuart Scott.
Scott revolutionized sports broadcasting by incorporating hip-hop culture and catchphrases into his reports.
The film uses never-before-seen footage and interviews with colleagues, athletes, and family to tell his story.
How can you tell a story in just 77 minutes about someone who meant so much to so many people?
Maybe a better question is, how strong is perseverance when faced with insurmountable odds in both work and life?
Filmmaker Andre Gaines (“The One and Only Dick Gregory”, “The Dutchman”) faced that dilemma head-on when trying to answer those questions and many more while telling the story of beloved sportscaster Stuart Scott.
Scott is the subject of ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 film: “Boo-Yah: A Stuart Scott Portrait,” which premieres on Dec. 10 at 9 pm ET on ESPN, the ESPN app, and Disney+.
“It’s a triumphant story, but also a tragic one,” Gaines, who also produced the film, told USA TODAY Sports. “Hopefully, we will celebrate his life, as opposed to linger on his death.”
For his part, Gaines does a more than admirable job, blending storytelling that allows the subject to tell the story without being heavy-handed in its message, using never-before-seen footage, and Scott’s own self-shot home videos.
Scott, who died at age 49 in 2015 after a more than seven-year battle with appendix cancer, revolutionized sports broadcasting with a distinctive style that he created, cultivated, and ultimately perfected, while challenging the public – especially those who didn’t look like him – to accept it.
Let’s face it, ESPN and its studio shows were a by-the-numbers production, and although they were popular because there was nothing else like it on cable television, they certainly had no semblance of style until Scott arrived in 1993, at the start of ESPN2.
Scott realized that hip-hop was a major force in mainstream America and inserted catchphrases like “cool as the other side of the pillow” or “Michael (Jordan) was like butter because he’s on a roll.” That is some culture-changing stuff, and it is still being talked about today, in the age of everyone trying to become viral, just because, not necessarily because they had talent like Scott.
Those who experienced it felt the brilliance and ease with which someone can be unapologetically true to themselves while doing their job with excellence and touching many lives, whether others choose to follow in their footsteps or not.
Those who didn’t get it – and still don’t – were a vocal minority, especially people who wasted their time sending Scott racist letters and phone messages, including one Scott played in one of his home videos, to drive home his point.
That is a significant theme in the film, as Scott received constant blowback for his style – from outsiders and even some inside the Bristol headquarters – despite ESPN hiring him for that very reason because he was different.
Gaines said he didn’t name names and pick on those executives or anyone else who complained about Scott’s unique style. If there is one slight grumble about the film, that’s it.
In a documentary format or anything that is based on someone’s life, all sides need to be picked apart. In the science of truth-telling, sometimes feelings get hurt or not-so-flattering reminders of unacceptable or even racist behavior and speech come to light, and that’s ok.
Gaines began the project nearly two years ago, interviewed 50 people, and said he had enough footage for a four-or five-part series.
Scott’s story begins in Chicago and North Carolina, and he never intended to become a sportscaster. Originally, Scott wanted to be a football player, but he was diagnosed with Keratoconus in high school, a rare eye disease that would affect him for the rest of his life. That eye issue became more complicated when he was preparing a story about the New York Jets training camp; all the while, his true hope was that he could actually make the team.
While catching footballs from a jug machine, one hit him in the eye where he had good vision, setting off a chain of events that included him barely being able to see while doing his job.
The film really takes off when Scott’s former colleagues, including Chris Berman, Rich Eisen, Robin Roberts, athletes like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, and his loved ones, especially his daughters Taelor and Sydni, who showed incredible grace throughout, are interviewed. These interviews provide more insight into a man whose work ethic was unmatched, but that trait, combined with long work-related absences, ultimately led to the end of his marriage.
The film’s last 25 minutes are not for the weary, (Gaines warns viewers to have their tissues handy) detailing Scott’s final years, from his courageous fight with cancer to his last public appearance before the 2014 ESPY Awards, where he poignantly said, “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.”
There is a montage of photos near the film’s conclusion featuring Scott, including some from the last few weeks of his life – set to Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You” – that are incredibly heartbreaking but also highlight the remarkable life of a man who left us too soon, and most importantly, left a bigger, more significant mark. The film’s strength in allowing the viewer to determine what that is and how it applies to them can’t be understated.
There is no doubt: amid the constant debate, sports morning shows, and podcasts from athletes and celebrities alike, Scott paved the way for them to monetize their brands through mass-consumption platforms, for better or worse.
“With Stuart, what’s interesting is that he was able to maintain that position in his personality for the times to catch up with him,” Gaines said. “Thankfully, in his short life, he was able to enjoy some of the spoils of that.”