Viewers of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption and NBA Countdown have noticed Michael Wilbon mostly appearing remotely from home for the last couple of months. That’s thanks to a foot surgery Wilbon had in January. Since then, he’s been getting around on a scooter and/or crutches, and has been living at his one-story home in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he’s making his ESPN appearances from. (He did appear in person on NBA Countdown when that show was in Scottsdale on Feb. 10 ahead of Super Bowl LVII, as seen above, but most of his ESPN work since January has been remote.)
Wilbon spoke to Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post in a piece published Monday night. There, he discussed how this surgery was due to him developing Type II diabetes after a heart attack 15 years ago. That’s led to some foot issues: he developed a diabetic ulcer in his right foot last April, which was repaired, but that then happened in his left foot as well, which led to the January surgery. He told Glasspiegel recovery has been long, but he’s okay with that:
“When you’re 64 years old, you’re not gonna come back from that overnight — I don’t know if you would at 44 either,” Wilbon said.
…While many might dwell on the “why me” aspect of this scenario, Wilbon was upbeat.
“I’m lucky,” he said.
“I have the best in healthcare. It looks like I’m gonna be OK so there’s no reason to be in despair.
“I get annoyed. I get impatient. But, I can’t afford to be impatient. Do I get annoyed and impatient? Hell yeah, but I’m in good spirits.”
Wilbon has shown that off on Instagram, where he recently posted a video of him on his scooter side by side with one of injured Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James riding a similar scooter:
Wilbon told Glasspiegel he expects to be travelling again this coming week, and hopes to be walking normally again “in a couple of weeks.” So we’ll likely see him appearing in person on ESPN platforms again before too long. We wish him all the best in his recovery.
[The New York Post; photo from Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.