Beloved ESPN 'SportsCenter' Anchor Jay Harris Announces He Has Cancer
Longtime ESPN anchor Jay Harris announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Harris, 60, has been at ESPN since 2003 and is best known for his work as a SportsCenter anchor. He has also hosted shows such as Outside the Lines, NFL Live, Baseball Tonight, First Take and Friday Night Fights.
The Norfolk, Virginia native revealed his cancer diagnosis on Good Morning America this morning, sharing that he will undergo surgery next week.
“I’m having surgery on Tuesday. I'll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover, and then I'm coming back better than ever," Harris told host Michael Strahan.
Harris added that his doctors are "quite optimistic" and that his latest tests indicate the cancer has not spread.
"Once we take out the prostate, hopefully that will be it. That's the goal," Harris said.
JUST IN: ESPN @SportsCenter anchor @JayHarrisESPN shares prostate cancer diagnosis: “I’m having surgery on Tuesday. I'll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover. Then I'm coming back better than ever.” pic.twitter.com/CUM92LMRif
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 5, 2025
Harris also took time to urge men out there to take care of themselves by going to the doctor and talking about their health with friends.
"We don't talk. I was on a golf trip with some buddies of mine. And we were just sitting around talking about things that I probably can't talk about on television right now. And I mentioned the news to them. I told them what was going on with me and the conversation from there was fantastic," Harris said.
"We talked about doctor's appointments and ailments and family histories and things that we wouldn't have had a conversation about because I figured I needed to share. We all need to talk about these things because we all have them in our families. By not talking about them, we just, I hate to be morbid, we sentence ourselves to death."
Well-wishes have been pouring in for Harris on social media this morning. The veteran journalist also said he has leaned on ESPN colleagues Brian Custer and Hannah Storm--both of whom have dealt with cancer--throughout the early part of his diagnosis.