On June 5, veteran ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. At that time, Harris said “I’m having surgery on Tuesday. I’ll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover. Then I’m coming back better than ever.” And Harris provided a good-news update Monday that his surgery went well, and he’s on track for a July 12 SportsCenter return:
“My doctor said the surgery went really well. So well, in fact, that the cancer that was in my prostate stayed there, didn’t spread to any surrounding areas. So when he took the prostate out, he took that with it, so it’s all good.
“…The main thing is, we’re all good, and I’m looking forward to July 12, getting back to SportsCenter and getting back to work. Just home, resting up, chilling. Appreciate the prayers and the thoughts and the messages and the calls and the deliveries. Thank you so much. Appreciate all the love, and I will holler. Take care. Peace!”
It’s certainly great to hear that Harris’ surgery went well and that his recovery is progressing as planned. And it’s also good to hear that he has a date set for his SportsCenter return.
Tributes to Harris poured in around his initial announcement earlier this month, which he said he made “to join the many others who also want to normalize this conversation and hopefully provide a bit of guidance and preparation, just as it has been offered to me.” Some of those tributes even came on ESPN’s airwaves, including a notable one from Ryan Clark.
Those tributes showed the mark Harris has had made over his since-2003 career with ESPN. And it sounds like viewers will get to see his return to SportsCenter sooner rather than later, and to watch him continue to make an impact on the sports world.