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Chris Mortensen, late legendary NFL journalist, remembered by Kirk Herbstreit, CFB media members
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Chris Mortensen’s passing has the college football world grieving the loss of a legendary sports journalist.
Kirk Herbstreit took to X, formerly Twitter, after ESPN announced Mortensen’s passing Sunday morning at the age of 72. Herbstreit remembered Mortensen as a classy colleague who took great pride in his work.
Just hearing this news. Mort was always one of the classiest folks I ever came across, not only in this industry, but in life in general. Carried himself with great integrity and prided himself on the credibility of his reporting. RIP Mort and thank you for being such an example… https://t.co/LuPeSM8YPZ
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) March 3, 2024
Mortensen had a decorated career as a journalist, winning 18 awards. He joined ESPN in 1991, leading the network’s NFL coverage as a top insider who broke some of the league’s biggest stories. Mortensen, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2016, stepped away from his role at ESPN in 2023.
Sunday afternoon and evening, many of those in the CFB world who crossed paths with Mortensen shared heartfelt tributes. In addition to his excellence in reporting, Mortensen was widely remembered for being kind and helpful to others.
Hard day for ESPN family. Chris was the standard in our business as a reporter and person. Always there to help and give advice. Even as a young reporter, I leaned on him for direction, and he didn’t really know me nor did we work together at the time. ? https://t.co/sqdf587i4I
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) March 3, 2024
Just gutted to hear this news. Mort was a gem of a person, a generous colleague with his time and advice and, obviously, one of the definitive reporters to ever cover the sport of football. Prayers with his family. https://t.co/JdRNPwcFim
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 3, 2024
Few have made the pivot from print to TV so flawlessly, so professionally and so effortlessly. Fewer still remained as beloved. Farewell to one of the greats of our business. https://t.co/6qtkVIeTp8
— ??️♈️? (@ADavidHaleJoint) March 3, 2024
During my first two years with ESPN, I went to Bristol every Sunday to do the show. I would see Chris Mortensen every week and he would always be kind and make some comment about UK game the day before to relate
Kind to everyone no matter their status. A True gentleman. RIP https://t.co/yrZLaSRQqR
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 3, 2024
This hits hard today. Prayers go out to his family. Chris has been a good friend for close to two decades and contributed to my show for the final time this past Friday. R.I.P. Mort. @680TheFan https://t.co/w1mbufaGbe
— buck belue (@buckbelue8) March 3, 2024
Our thoughts are with the Mortensen family. May he Rest in Peace.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
