Former ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski was diagnosed with cancer not long before he made his shocking decision to leave the network last year.
In a Sports Illustrated profile of Wojnarowski that was published on Thursday, the 55-year-old former reporter revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March.
Wojnarowski stunned the sports world when he announced in September that he was leaving ESPN to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure University, his alma mater. He said the early-stage cancer, which has not caused symptoms and is “pretty limited in scope,” was not the driving force behind his decision. Though, he said the notion that “time isn’t in endless supply” — a line he included in his statement about leaving ESPN — was inspired by the diagnosis.
Wojnarowski learned of the cancer after a routine blood test showed an elevated prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. He says the prognosis is good and that the only current treatment is routine monitoring. While he may need surgery down the road, doctors told Woj that it is not necessary at this time.
Though Woj insists cancer did not directly lead to his decision to walk away from $20 million, he says it provided perspective for him.
“I didn’t want to spend one more day of my life waiting on someone’s MRI or hitting an agent at 1 a.m. about an ankle sprain,” Woj told SI’s Chris Mannix.
Wojnarowski said the only reason for him to stay at ESPN would have been money, and he did not feel that was the right reason. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who was aware of the cancer diagnosis, tried to get Wojnarowski to stay on in another role. Woj felt he would not be invested enough and opted for his $75,000 salary with St. Bonaventure instead.
