“SportsCenter” anchor Jay Harris will step away from ESPN briefly after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Harris made the announcement during an appearance on “Good Morning America” on Thursday, where he urged men to talk to each other about their health.
Harris said he would undergo surgery Tuesday, and expects to miss a month before he returns to ESPN to host “SportsCenter.”
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
During the appearance, “GMA” host Michael Strahan asked Harris about the importance of men talking to each other about their health. Harris responded by sharing a personal story about a conversation he had with his friends on a golf trip.
“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.
“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.”
Harris added that his latest scan showed his cancer had not spread. He said his doctor was optimistic, and that taking out Harris’ prostate should be all it takes. “That’s the goal,” Harris said.
Harris said he speaks to fellow “SportsCenter” anchors Hannah Storm and Brian Custer daily about his diagnosis. Storm revealed a breast cancer diagnosis in 2024. Custer had prostate-cancer surgery when he worked for SNY.
Harris is a long-time ESPN employee, and has worked for the network since 2003. While he’s hosted a number of shows, he’s most known for his work on “SportsCenter.”
