Emmy-Winning ESPN Director Dies at 42 After ‘Medical Emergency’ at NCAA Baseball Tournament
Kyle Brown, a former Ohio State pitcher, was remembered as “a good man, proud Buckeye and an amazing maker of television” by his ESPN coworkers
A longtime ESPN director died on Saturday morning while at the NCAA baseball super regional tournament “after suffering a medical emergency,” the network said over the weekend.
Kyle Brown was 42 years old.
Brown was remembered by ESPN as “a deeply admired member of our production team – and highly accomplished, having captured two Sports Emmy Awards while working a multitude of sports from baseball and basketball to Monday Night Football and college football.”
“A former Ohio State pitcher, Kyle cherished the opportunity to have a career in sports,” the network said in its statement. “His ESPN family wishes to extend our deepest condolences and full support to Kyle’s loved ones, including his wife, Megan, their four children, Makayla (14), Carson (11), Camden (9), and Madyn (6), and their beloved dog Rookie.”
The NCAA baseball super regional was taking place in Winston Salem, N.C., between Wake Forest and Alabama on Saturday. Brown was scheduled to work the game, according to Fox News. ESPN’s announcement that Brown had died came minutes before the game began shortly after noon ET.
CNN reporter Phil Mattingly mourned Brown’s loss on social media. The two were close and Brown was a groomsman in Mattingly’s wedding, according to The Columbia Dispatch.
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“I’m heartbroken because Kyle was a teammate, close friend, groomsman at my wedding and the guy I always went to for advice,” Mattingly wrote. “But I’m gutted because he was a wonderful husband and father of 4 fantastic kids. They were his heart, his life, his everything. There are no words.”
Brown’s coworkers also shared their condolences and shock on social media Sunday.
“Completely devastated,” tweeted ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge. “Kyle was the kindest, most genuine human. Praying hard for the family he loved so beautifully.”
ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III, the former NFL quarterback, responded to ESPN’s announcement saying he was “praying for Kyle’s family, loved ones and all those impacted on site at the Baseball tournament.”
“Kyle Brown was a good man, proud Buckeye and an amazing maker of television,” ESPN writer Ryan McGee tweeted. “If you’re a sports fan who has consumed any ESPN over the last decade and a half then you have benefited from Kyle’s hard work. Hug your loved ones. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.”
Brown fell in love with broadcasting during senior year of high school when a neighbor, who was a director at ESPN, brought him along to a broadcast at Ohio State, where he’d soon attend and play baseball.
His love for the profession was cemented when legendary basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale visited the school. “I was pretty much his chauffeur for the day,” Brown said in a story on Ohio State’s website during his time there. “You listen to him on TV and think, ‘This guy must drink Red Bull by the gallon,’ but off the air he is one of the most laid-back, nicest guys in the world.”
Brown became a captain for Ohio State before graduating and joining ESPN.
“He was just a great kid to be around,” former Ohio State baseball coach Bob Todd said, according to Sports Illustrated. “Way too young to leave this earth.”
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