Sports fans who frequent the ESPN channel would definitely be familiar with the name Chris Mortensen. He is a sports journalist known for his work on several ESPN programs such as NFL Sunday Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, ESPN Radio and many more. Chris also provided reporting for NFL GameDay as well as Off the Lines. The sports analyst has made a name for himself by playing an important role in the sports world.
Mortensen lately is not so active on the screen. This development came following his unexpected cancer diagnosis in 2016. Many have asked how the ace analyst has been doing since the diagnosis. You will discover this and more by scrolling.
Chris Mortensen Bio
He was born on November 7, 1951 in Torrance, California to his parents whose names are not known. Growing up, he attended North Torrance High School, where he began to cultivate his taste for sports. Chris Mortensen has been actively involved in different sports including basketball, football, baseball and many more.
After high school, he proceeded to El Camino College in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War was imminent and Chris had to join the army and serve his country for two years. Thereafter, he ventured into his career as a sports journalist. He made the decision to go this route after he could no longer play sports in high school; he was older after all and growth is an inevitable part of life.
Chris Mortensen started out working with DailyBreeze newspaper in Torrance. He then moved on to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, where he covered and provided various sports reports, including that of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, NFL and many others. Subsequently, he went to The National and covered the NFL (1989-90) for the outfit. After his time at The National, he moved to ESPN in 1991, where he worked the longest.
Mortensen covered major programs for the Sports Network and gained wide recognition for his work. He has reported for programs such as NFL GameDay, Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday NFL Countdown, SportsCenter and more. He played a significant role in the company’s coverage of the NFL Draft and other notable events.
Chris Mortensen has over 15 awards to his name for his contributions to the sports media platform. One of them includes the National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting in all categories.
Private life
Chris Mortensen is happily married to his wife, Micki Mortensen. The couple married in 1984 and have been together ever since. Meeting her in 1983 was one of the best things that ever happened to Chris and all he wanted to do was make Micki, who was then working for the Braves, his wife.
Things happened so fast and the two tied the knot only a year later. Together they have a son named Alex (born in 1985). Alex Mortensen is a former quarterback and also works as a coach for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football.
It was announced in 2016 that the ace sports journalist had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Here’s everything you need to know about development.
Checkup on his throat cancer, how is he doing?
To be specific, Chris Mortensen made the announcement himself on January 15, 2016, revealing that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. off the screen to take care of his health. This was indeed an unwelcome and unfortunate development for Chris and those around him.
The sports analyst immediately began undergoing chemotherapy as he visited the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston frequently. After a while, the cancer apparently disappeared. It was indeed a huge and pleasant surprise for all, as Chris announced in August 2016 that the cancer on his throat and the cancer on his tongue were gone.
He returned to his cover in September that same year and was a delight to behold. However, the dreaded disease returned in November 2016 and this time it was in his left lung. A picture of him emerged showing he had lost weight and had radiation burns around his neck.
Chris Mortensen is still undergoing treatment. He also struggles with abnormalities related to the deadly disease, especially his severe weight loss. But most importantly, he has all the love and support from his wife and son.