Adrian Wojnarowski, aka Woj, has revealed the true reason behind his shock exit from ESPN, after being at the outlet since 2017.
The former lead NBA insider was diagnosed with prostate cancer six months before he decided to leave, Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday.
Woj left ESPN to become the general manager for the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure and hinted at his diagnosis at the time, he says.
“Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful,” he wrote.
And told SI this week, “That was about the cancer.”
He underwent a biopsy after two blood tests revealed an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and got the news of the the diagnosis just minutes before appearing on a video call for NBA Countdown.
“When you hear cancer, you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,” Woj explained “Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.”
The cancer is “pretty limited in scope,” and Wojnarowski says he’s asymptomatic, does not currently need surgery and will keep monitoring the cancer for any changes.
He also made it clear the cancer wasn’t the sole reason he left ESPN.
“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,” Wojnarowski told Sports Illustrated.
The 55-year-old told SI that the death of longtime NFL insider Chris Mortensen from throat cancer made him rethink what was important to him.
“It made me remember that the job isn’t everything,” Woj says. “In the end it’s just going to be your family and close friends. And it’s also, like, nobody gives a s—. Nobody remembers [breaking stories] in the end. It’s just vapor.”
READ MORE: Jrue Holiday’s Honest Assessment of Zion Williamson