Stuart Scott’s Living Legacy on Millennials

I woke up this morning to learn about the unfortunate passing of longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott. At the age of 49, Scott passed away after a battle with cancer dating back to 2007.

Rarely, if ever, does a celebrity’s passing make me drop what I’m doing on a Sunday morning and write about them with such passion and conviction. However, like many Millennial male’s who grew up in the 1990's such as myself, Stuart Scott represented a part of “us” as a generational icon.

As I sat alone in my living room, watching this morning’s special edition of SportsCenter in tribute to Stuart, I sobbed while watching his now famous ESPY speech from last year.

His words, foreshadowing his fate, touched me like I’m sure it did everyone in the audience and watching on TV at home that night.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”?—?Stuart Scott
After a few minutes went by and I went from feeling sad to thankful for the impact that Stuart Scott’s legacy, unknowingly, has made on my life and career.

As a kid growing up, I wanted to pursue a career in broadcast journalism?—?specifically at ESPN?—?because of Stuart Scott. Stuart’s passion, high-energy, and unique for reporting the day’s highlights during SportsCenter embodied exactly who I wanted to be in my career.

It’s OK to be different and unique.

Much like today’s Millennial generation, Stuart Scott was a trendsetter. He was innovative and brought a new journalistic, “hip hop” style, to ESPN that would’ve been commonly associated with MTV at the time rather than a sports, news network on cable.

In the early to mid 1990's it wasn’t common to see an African-American anchor, and while he didn’t have the same look of his peers like Chris Berman or Bob Levy, he used his uniqueness to stand apart from them.

Stuart Scott’s catchphrases like “Boo-yah” or “Cooler than the other side of the pillow” are synonymous with most Millennials who grew up watching him. Scott’s persona, and style, alone transcended SportsCenter in the 90's to be a part of pop culture and trendy.

Whether it was schooling my friends in video games, or getting schooled on the basketball court, Stuart Scott made it cool for “white kids” to say thing’s like “Boo-yah” or “Boom Shacka Lacka”.

Stuart Scott was truly disruptive for his time. His legacy will live on within those who strive to be different and use their difference to make a difference.

In today’s corporate world, where Millennials are faced with intense scrutiny, the challenge of fitting in, and judged by how they talk or dress?—?just look at Stuart Scott for inspiration.

Stuart Scott knew he was different and he embraced it. He was himself. Not who other’s wanted him to be.

Most importantly, he was beloved by his peers. On a recent post game segment of Monday Night Football the crew all wished Stuart an emotional speedy recovery?—?seeing grown men in tears on live TV when speaking about a colleague really humbles you inside.

A lesson for Millennials to live by. People will never forget how you make them feel.

I had the privilege of personally meeting Stuart in New Orleans during Super Bowl week in 2013. In a total “fan moment”, like most people, I told Stuart how big of a fan I was and even asked if he could say his famous catchphrase “Boo-yah” which did while taking the time to pose for a picture.

While my memories of Stuart Scott are limited to seeing him as a TV personality, legacy is what people remember?—?and Stuart Scott’s will always live on.

That’s real talk. Boo-yah!

~ Carlos Gil

Follow me @CarlosGil83 on Twitter and Instagram