ESPN Director Dies Unexpectedly in Middle of NCAA Tournament
A longtime ESPN director and a former college baseball player died unexpectedly over the weekend while covering an NCAA tournament.
The network announced on Sunday that Kyle Brown died on Saturday at age 42 during its coverage of the NCAA baseball super regional in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Brown suffered what ESPN called a “medical emergency” but no other information was made available.
His death was first announced on Twitter by golf commentator and podcaster Gary Williams.
“Kyle Brown died suddenly today,” Williams posted on Saturday. “He was a lead producer for Morning Drive @GolfChannel.”
Williams described Brown’s death as “simply unimaginable.”
Kyle Brown died suddenly today. He was a lead producer for Morning Drive @GolfChannel and his loss is simply unimaginable. All of us who were fortunate to have him in our lives ask for prayers for the comfort and care of his wife and children. Our time is too precious for words.
— Gary Williams (@Garywilliams1Up) June 10, 2023
“All of us who were fortunate to have him in our lives ask for prayers for the comfort and care of his wife and children. Our time is too precious for words,” Williams said.
ESPN remembered Brown on the air Sunday and said in a statement he would be “greatly missed.”
NCAA Baseball coverage across ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU began at noon today with this tribute to Kyle Brown from @KrisBudden pic.twitter.com/l4B7uuXcJT
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 11, 2023
A number of the network anchors and reporters posted tributes to the late producer:
Prayers with Kyle’s family. https://t.co/hZalKqc8iC
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 11, 2023
Praying for the Brown family. https://t.co/njEpj5zKdv
— Rece Davis (@ReceDavis) June 12, 2023
We are all shocked and distraught by the loss of Kyle Brown. Wonderful coworker. just devastating. https://t.co/8xbjiGLngD
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) June 11, 2023
We’d lost touch in recent years, but Browny and I started at ESPN right around the same time and hung out a ton socially in our early days here.
A Buckeye through and through and just a great guy. Such a terrible loss. https://t.co/C7Ay2WfhP7
— Brett Edgerton (@EditorEdge) June 11, 2023
We lost a gem of a person and a friend yesterday. Please hug your loved ones tight today. Will miss you immensely KB. https://t.co/8w6aght64g
— Kris Budden (@KrisBudden) June 11, 2023
This is brutal news…beyond being a very talented person, much more importantly Kyle was simply as nice a guy as you’d ever want to meet…a genuinely good person. We spent a lot of time together. Please say a prayer for his family https://t.co/2GAaN6sd77
— Bob Wischusen (@espnbob) June 11, 2023
The network also issued a statement about Brown’s death on its website.
“A 16-year ESPN employee, Kyle was 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,” the network said in a statement.
Brown first began working with ESPN during his college career at Ohio State University, where he was a pitcher on the baseball team.
In 2003, Brown shared details of an encounter he had with sportscaster Dick Vitale during his time as a student-athlete.
“When Dick Vitale came into town, I was pretty much his chauffeur for the day,” he told the school’s website. “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.”
The right-hander hedged his college experience with ESPN into a lengthy career.
Brown was a native of Washington Court House, Ohio.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, he is survived by his wife Megan and his four children, Makayla, Carson, Camden and Madyn.
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