On the Air: An appreciation of the late John Saunders

Welcome back to “On the Air,” in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters, on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry.

Little more than nine years ago, “SportsCenter” anchor Hannah Storm broke in from the Rio Olympics to share the news that venerable ESPN host John Saunders had passed away at the age of 61. Coming just 19 months after the passing of his colleague Stuart Scott, Saunders’ death struck another blow to the industry and the network.

It would be difficult to identify any single show or event with which Saunders was most identified. One might say hockey. A proud African-Canadian, he and his brother Bernie were standout hockey players at Western Michigan University in the 1970s. (In 1979, Bernie was signed by the Quebec Nordiques, becoming just the fifth black player in NHL history.) Saunders would serve as anchor of ESPN’s NHL coverage, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final, from 1993 to 2004.

Was it college football? He was ABC’s lead studio host on that property for years, a role that he still held when he passed. For some it might be the NBA, where he was the voice of the Toronto Raptors from their inaugural season in 1995 until 2001, and later served as a play-by-play voice and studio host for ESPN (it was Saunders reliving some of his hockey days in studio the night of the Malice at the Palace).

Or maybe it was not a single game or sport, but his constant presence on ESPN over a three-decade ESPN career — both on “SportsCenter” in its early years and later, as host of “The Sports Reporters,” a role he assumed in 2001 following the sudden death of Dick Schaap. Following Schaap was no easy task, but Saunders was the perfect successor.

“He was tremendous and generous, allowing the rest of us to look good — sometimes no small feat, believe me,” wrote panelist Mike Lupica in an ESPN.com article. “But he really was that good at this kind of television.”

Saunders guided the show with a steady assurance — deftly weaving in opinions from veteran columnists like Mitch Albom, Bob Ryan and Bill Rhoden to up-and-comers like Israel Gutierrez and Dan LeBatard — and became one of ESPN’s most visible and trusted on-air personalities.

“His wide range of accomplishments across numerous sports and championship events is among the most impressive the industry has ever seen,” then-ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement after Saunders’ passing.

If never achieving the fame of other ESPN stars, like Chris Berman and Stuart Scott, Saunders was nonetheless an inspiration to those who came after him, particularly to the multiple generations of African-American journalists who followed in his footsteps.

“When I saw John on TV do his thing, I could see me,” said ESPN anchor Jay Harris in a 2016 Andscape.com article. “I’m not a catchphrase, out-there kind of anchor, so when I saw him on TV … I saw a dude who knew what the heck he was doing who looked like me.”

He was known for his hearty laugh and his on-camera poise. But away from the lights, Saunders battled intense physical and mental health challenges. He suffered a brain injury in 2011 after an accidental fall on the ABC college football studio set. In his posthumous memoir Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair To Hope, Saunders wrote about his long struggle with depression, including a near-suicide attempt in 2012.

Saunders also revealed in the book that he checked himself into the psychiatric ward of a local hospital in 2009, unbeknownst to his ESPN bosses.

“I consider my bosses at ESPN to be enlightened, caring people,” Saunders wrote. “If I told them what I was going through, I’m confident they would have protected my privacy and done everything they could to help me. But I was still too embarrassed to let them know I was dealing with serious depression. So I told my supervisors at ESPN that I was in the hospital for my diabetes, which gave me more incentive to get out soon before I had to blow my cover.”

While his harrowing tales remind us of the painful realities of life, Saunders’ legacy re-awakens us to the power of human decency. In the hours and days following his death, numerous broadcasters reflected on Saunders’ selflessness.

During his tribute live on First Take, Stephen A. Smith tearfully called Saunders his “big brother.” Then-ESPN hosts Jemele Hill and Michael Smith recalled how Saunders encouraged them early in their careers.

“John Saunders, for as much a versatile broadcaster he’s known as being, behind closed doors he was a real champion of a lot of people there,” Hill told the Detroit Free Press. “He had conversations with Mike and I privately about our career paths there. He was always interested in how he could help us.”

Scott Van Pelt’s words in his “SportsCenter” tribute perhaps best capture Saunders’ impact on broadcasters from ESPN and across the industry.

“In this business of insecurity and ego, you don’t often find John’s level of generosity or willingness to nurture those who might someday come for the chair you’re sitting in,” Van Pelt said.

Sports media is a ruthless field, bristling with executives, producers and on-air talent who often pursue their own goals with no regard for anyone else. Saunders’ legacy as a broadcaster, mentor and champion for others serves as a standard for how established industry professionals can help keep moving the industry forward.

Plus: New voices arise on NBA studio shows

The discussion of NBA studio shows tends to begin and end with the TNT-produced “Inside the NBA,” which is moving to ESPN this season after TNT’s loss of NBA rights. There has been much to discuss in what has been a prolonged period of uncertainty for the program, as beloved a sports studio show as has ever existed.

But the most interesting NBA studio news this season may originate from the league’s two new broadcast partners, NBC and Amazon.

After 23 years, the NBA on NBC returns this October. Former ESPN host Maria Taylor will serve as lead studio anchor, and the roster of talent includes Michael Jordan, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. The Jordan announcement shocked many in the industry — including league commissioner Adam Silver — and, while his role as special contributor remains unclear, Jordan figures to make headlines with any analysis he provides.

Anthony’s position is more defined. The Peacock network is presenting the former 10-time All-Star as a cornerstone of its studio coverage. Can Anthony translate the energy from his popular podcast 7 PM in Brooklyn into the TV arena? And how will Taylor and Anthony get the best out of Carter? The former Half-Man, Half-Amazing star could bedazzle with his violent dunks, but his TV work at ESPN and TNT/NBA TV has been largely unmemorable.

Meanwhile, Amazon is leaning on recent retirees Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Udonis Haslem and Dirk Nowitzki to give its studio coverage a distinctive flavor. Griffin has the kind of personality that could lead to on-camera magic. Nowitzki was solid during a guest stint on “Inside the NBA” in 2024 and, though it shouldn’t be expected to touch Barkley-Smith chemistry during Inside’s heyday, Nowitzki’s reunion with former Dallas Mavericks teammate Steve Nash could deliver for viewers.

Amazon’s decision to hire Taylor Rooks as lead studio host makes sense, given her on-camera experience and connections within the league.

Ultimately, the challenge for Amazon and NBC will be to find ways to move the conversations about the game forward while not sacrificing entertainment. For far too long and for numerous reasons, the hullabaloo around the NBA has been littered with attention-starved opportunists who beat old narratives to death and needlessly antagonize the players. A new crop of voices means new opportunities to reshape the conversations around the league and entertain and educate roundball lovers.