ESPN reporter John Saunders dead at 61

ESPN reporter John Saunders has died at the age of 61.

The Rio Olympics are in full swing and NFL training camps are returning to action. But the sports world is pausing to absorb the shock from the death of a legendary sports reporter who is gone well before his time.

ESPN’s John Saunders has died at the age of 61.

It’s unclear what the cause of Saunders death was, but the loss of one of ESPN’s best voices is already being felt. Saunders was a SportsCenter anchor, a field reporter and journalist on Sports Reporters at various times during his career at ESPN.

ESPN, the network that employed Saunders since 1987, released a statement on his death:

He was one of the kindest and softest voices in sports reporting, never aggressive in an unnecessary way and his compass was always pointing north. It’s not like Saunders was fading away on ESPN either, as he helped anchor ABC’s Saturday coverage of College Football as well as assisting on ESPN/ABC related sports crossovers surrounding the NBA and Soccer.

Beyond that, he was just an amazing human being. When news of Saunders death reached social media, the outpouring of support and memories was phenomenal. Just about everyone had a John Saunders story, even people you wouldn’t have ever imagined would have a story to tell.

He was just special, and his death is a shock to everyone in the sports world.

Saunders will truly be missed.