ESPN's Shelley Smith will return to the air on April 30 after taking time off over the last six months "to undergo multiple radiation treatments" for breast cancer, according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Smith, who will appear on-air bald after losing her hair during the treatment, "will be in Hawaii" for a pre-NFL Draft feature on QB Marcus Mariota and will interview him "after he is selected." Smith will then "go back for five more rounds of radiation, starting May 11." She said that she is “'basically cancer-free' and that the next round of radiation is to eradicate any microscopic fibers that might have gone undetected." Smith "credited her colleagues and ESPN management for their support throughout her treatment." Smith: "The whole company has been amazing. I mean [President John Skipper] called me. They really know what to do when you have trouble." Deitsch noted ESPN college basketball reporter Andy Katz "ran with Smith’s name on his bib and arm" during yesterday's Boston Marathon. Meanwhile, Smith said that she "recently reached out" to fellow ESPN reporter Britt McHenry following the release of a video showing McHenry berating a tow truck worker. Smith: "I know she is hurting. She made a big mistake, but she is still one of ours" (SI.com, 4/21).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: NFL Network reporter Alex Flanagan on her personal website wrote under the header, "The ESPN Reporter That Should Be Getting The Attention." She wrote McHenry "went from being relatively unknown to being a household name" following the video becoming public and the saying "'no publicity is bad publicity' seems truer today than ever before." The outcome of McHenry’s "insensitive behavior is a higher Q-rating, an increase in Twitter followers and an explosion of Google hits when you search her name on the internet," and her face "has been all over the place" since the incident. Flanagan: "That’s unfair. Here is why. There are so many hard-working women in my line of work deserving of that kind of airtime who likely will never get it because they won’t have their own bad girl scandal." Flanagan detailed Smith's battle with cancer and wrote, "I’ve never heard words like 'diva' or 'entitled' associated with Shelly’s name. She’s respected for being an excellent writer, a hard worker, a great reporter and a good teammate. ... I would absolutely have her back if after a bad day she wanted to 'go off' and give cancer a piece of her mind. But I doubt she ever will. If you ask me, that’s the kind of story and TV personality who deserves some air time" (ALEXFLANAGAN.com, 4/20).
