Broadcaster Dick Vitale says the vocal cords are cancer-free, and can return to work soon
Dick Vitale, the legendary college basketball broadcaster, revealed the good news after visiting his voice doctor on Wednesday.
Vitale said, after receiving a scope performed by his doctor, Steven Zeitels, his vocal cords are cancer free.
The Zeitels believe Vitale could be back in court wearing a headset soon.
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Dick Vitale, left, and Jon Sciambi shake hands after calling a game between the Texas Longhorns and the Kansas Jayhawks for ESPN at the Moody Center in Austin, March 4, 2023. (Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports)
“I just had my voice widened and I was very touched by the good report of Dr. ZEITELS. He said that the cords are not cancerous and he feels that I can return to my love of being on the @espn court,” Vitale wrote. to X with pictures of him in the doctor’s chair.
Vitale hasn’t lost his love for college basketball at age 85, but he has faced serious battles with cancer, including melanoma, lymphoma and laryngeal cancer in recent years.
But Vitale announced in December 2024 that he was officially cancer-free, although it was not known if he would return to the court to call some of college basketball’s best players.
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So, this news after his test with Zeitels is important because he obviously wants to get back to entertaining fans with his enthusiastic broadcasts on game days.
“Dick, you’re back!” Zeitels said in a video posted on Vitale’s Facebook Watch. “Your vocal cords won’t hold you back.
“We’ve been on this road for a long time. I didn’t know we’d get here, but we’re here. And you’re ready to be with your viewers, players, ESPN, you’re ready to be with everybody again.”
ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale, left, meets with SEC commissioner Greg Stankey before the game between Texas A&M and Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference championship, March 12, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Vitale was upset after Zeitels said those words, and the doctor comforted him, knowing full well what he was going through.
“Dickie V” spent 41 years as a college basketball broadcaster after spending time coaching at various levels, from high school to the NBA.
The New Jersey native spent time coaching at Garfield High School before taking over his alma mater, East Rutherford High School, where he led teams to two New Jersey state titles.
Vitale will continue coaching as an assistant at Rutgers before moving on to the University of Detroit as their head coach. He will stay in Michigan to coach the Pistons from 1978-79.
When he finished coaching the Pistons, Vitale joined ESPN, calling its first college basketball game in 1979, a game where DePaul beat Wisconsin, and the rest became great history.
Dick Vitale has spent 41 years as a college basketball broadcaster after spending time coaching at various levels, from high school to the NBA. (Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
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Now, Vitale is happy to be back with his love, as he says, and it’s safe to say that every college basketball fan can’t wait for his long-awaited return.
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