Dickie V Can’t Be Silenced

After surgery on his vocal cords, Dick Vitale is under doctor’s orders not to talk for four weeks. But he’s got plenty to say, and his thumbs work just fine.

You pity the text bubbles. They sit there in that rectangle, quivering with nervous anticipation. They dance and do their equivalent of a three-man weave. And then it comes: the bubbles are obliterated, replaced by a burst of photos, emoji and text blocks, so long they could be serialized.

These onslaughts, these cloudbursts of prose, emanate from the thumbs of Dick Vitale. Now 82, Dickie V is no diaper dandy, but he spends as much time on his devices—head down, hands out—as any teenager. And for the past few months, he has been texting in lieu of talking.

Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated

Yes, if you’ve noticed that the college hoops soundtrack this season has sounded a little different—quieter, not quite as fun—blame the double-team dysplasia and ulcerated lesions on Vitale’s vocal cords. They’ve put him out of action. They have also distracted him from a more serious health concern.

There are, of course, elements of irony and tragedy at play here. Somewhere, an athletic small forward—a “jump-outta-the-gym-guy,” in Vitalespeak—is grounded by a knee injury. Somewhere, a sweet-shooting guard, endowed with velveteen touch, is sidelined with a sprained finger or wrist. Then there is Vitale, a man known for his verbal salvos for the better part of the last half-century, exiled to his home outside Sarasota, Fla., unable to speak.

But if Vitale has been silenced, that doesn’t mean he’s lost his almost compulsive need to communicate. And asking him whether he wants to converse over text for this story is something akin to asking Steph Curry whether he wants a few open looks from the perimeter. You cannot stop Dick Vitale. You cannot even hope to contain him. Risking doing to his thumbs what he did to his vocal cords, he fires up his various devices and squeezes off blast after blast. And Dickie Vee in text form is, well, what you’d likely expect: relentless, scattered, irradiated with joy, awash in dropped names—and impossible to consume without a smile.

In his initial answer (checking in at 1,931 words), he explained that, as recently as last July, life could scarcely have been better. He and his wife, Lorraine, celebrated their 50th anniversary by taking their extended family to Hawai‘i for two weeks. He wrote: Maui & also the Big Island staying at absolutely beautiful Four Seasons Resort . hey it is not everyday u celebrate 50 th anniversary.

Upon returning home, Vitale went to his dermatologist for a biopsy of a small skin growth above his nose and received word it was melanoma. It was removed and he underwent plastic surgery to minimize the scarring, but it had to be checked every 90 days.

Then, a few weeks later came more serious news. He was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects the network of tissues and organs that produce, store and carry white blood cells that fight infections. His treatment entails intense chemotherapy sessions, and then Neupogen shots to elevate white blood cells. On this particular day, he writes, the side effects today were severe pain in the bones & lots of aching.

Lorraine has been a constant at Vitale's side / Courtesy of Dick Vitale

He has been, characteristically, open on social media, detailing what he calls “the “constant battle” of his cancer treatments. The sharing has been therapeutic; and, more practically, he hopes that more attention means more research money.

It is a constant journey & this is what I am trying to get across by being transparent. It is why $$$ are needed so that thru research much of what takes place. … It is not just the chemotherapy & radiation that patients deal with. It is the scans, bloodwork, blood counts, & the constant visits to the Lab to make sure that certain counts r where they should be.

In the fall, Vitale’s various counts and levels fell into an acceptable range and, with his doctor's blessing, he returned to his familiar spot, courtside, on Nov. 23, when No. 1 Gonzaga met No. 2 UCLA in Las Vegas. Despite his vowing to his family that he would hold it together, the weight of the occasion overwhelmed his emotions—an M-and-M’er, baby!—and this, memorably, happened.

But Vitale gathered himself. And then it was, in his words: Hoops Heaven. … Once the actual game started I got into the flow of the game and was so pleased how good it felt to be back where I absolutely love to be at courtside.

But after calling five games in 12 days, his voice was shot. He figured it might be laryngitis. It was not.

Vitale digresses, as he does, for some history. In 2008, he underwent surgery for ulcerated vocal cords, performed by Dr. Steven Zeitels, a voice rehabilitation specialist, at Mass General—whose patients, Vitale is quick to note, include Adele, Steven Tyler and Cher, among others. The surgery was a success, preserving and prolonging Vitale’s voice and, by extension, his career.

This time, though, when Vitale visited Zeitels, there was good news and bad news. Again, the lesions were the culprit, and this setback was unrelated to the cancer or chemotherapy. But Zeitels explained that Vitale’s inflammation was so severe, he needed to spend this hoops season on the vocal equivalent of bed rest. Or as Vitale put it:

I had to give my voice a T.O., Baby … that meant I had no shot of working during March Madness. Needless to say that tore out my heart, but I must care more about my health than jump shots.

So it is that Vitale has spent this season toggling between his home and the Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s oncology ward. When he’s not walking with Lorraine, he’s watched more basketball, he says, than ever. And he’s happy to share some observations. Does Dick Vitale have unsolicited opinions about the Duke–Notre Dame game airing later that night, Jan. 31, on ESPN? Of course he does:

My VBDI ( vitale bald dome index) says if the Irish beat the Dukies Coach Brey will put on his dancing shoes . This will not be as we all know easily attained as the team wearing the Duke uniforms is not bad / ha ha ! PAOLO BANCHERO at 6’10 is a nightmare for their opponents . He has some super help from 7’ Malik Williams,Wendell Moore ,& rising star 3 pt shooter AJ Griffin .Also Brey will match coaching wisdom with a guy that has had some success called Coach K . (N.B. Duke won 57–43.)

Lacking a voice is not the same thing as being muted. And if Vitale can’t bring to bear his gifts of intonation and rhythm and volume, the man sure can amplify sentiment with emoji. Vitale’s communiqués feature more 💪 than any weight room, more 🙏 than any megachurch, more ❤️ than any Valentine’s display.

But this experience has reconfirmed for Vitale his preference for talking to typing. Communication by text for me gets frustrating at times as I am so much more comfortable speaking. … Give me the mic/ want it so badly . Also I am being very active in going out for lunch / dinner & it is a MUST that I travel with a pad & write down all my responses to those that visit with a hello or best of luck comment . I order my food by pad / not FUN . I want to get back so badly.

A colleague of Vitale’s suggested that, frustrating as this has been for him, the well-wishes he receives on social media and via text come freighted with a different kind of emotional depth than the backslaps and requests for selfies he gets—and, religiously, obliges—in basketball gyms and airports and restaurants. Vitale doesn't disagree. I’m blown away by the overwhelming number of prayers & love I’ve received from my second family at ESPN, from the coaching community that forms the landscape of college hoops, from so many media members even those over the years that have been critical at times, obviously the fans ❤️❤️❤️ over the years.

Then Vitale does what he does on broadcasts: He starts to construct lists, knowing he will leave off some names, but figuring it’s worth the tradeoffs for the name-checks. Lorraine is his ultimate PTPer. His daughters, Terri and Sherri, and their families are a close second. (Vitale notes that if his thumbs give out from texting, Terri’s husband, Chris Sforzo, is an “outstanding hand/ elbow / shoulder surgeon.”) The oncologists have been amazing, Same for the doctors and nurses at the hospital. Zeitels is “the Larry Bird of the vocal cord world.” Vitale’s boss, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, checks in a few times a week.

He also says he hears from players and coaches. Barely an hour before Villanova played Marquette on Feb. 2, Jay Wright, team chaplain Rev. Rob Hagan and the players sent Vitale a video with prayers for a swift recovery. Rick Barnes, the Tennessee coach, sends him a daily prayer. Vitale forwarded the one from last Monday. It read: Heavenly Father, continue keeping a hedge of protection around Dick, his family and medical team. Restore his voice and heal his body. In Christ Jesus name we pray. Amen. Love you Dick.🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️

Relentless optimism and positive thinking have always been as much a part of Vitale’s singular M.O. as exuberance, nicknames and nonstop chatter. Even the memoir he wrote in the 1980s—“Vitale: Just Your Average Bald, One-Eyed Basketball Wacko Who Beat the Ziggy and Became a PTP’er”—doubles as an if-I-can-do-it-you-can-too! self-help guide. As his health has deteriorated, he has found himself tapping into these reserves.

​​Vitale’s concerns about his voice often seem to trump more serious, mortal reckonings. When darker thoughts take up residency in his head, he tries to clear them with a mix of slogans—more than once, his texts came garnished with the line from his one-time broadcast partner Jim Valvano: “DON’T GIVE UP, DON’T EVER GIVE UP”—and glass-half-full data.

Jon , I can only go what I am told & I be am blessed to have a great medical TEAM Dr Rick Brown who I had to see about and hr ago. …. He said my blood counts post chemotherapy have been really good . He is very optimistic that I will be in remission after my chemo treatments . He said I have handled very effectively the various procedures & treatments I am dealing with. Also he likes that I have no problem working [o]ut doing various physical fitness drills with supervision . Plus he likes that I am active by taking walks. All those are very positive according to them . I don’t know if it is appease me but his staff members constantly state that they don’t believe I am 82 / they make me feel good by saying u don’t look 82 u certainly don’t act 82 . Based on all [t]hat I am very optimistic .

Vitale (pictured at Duke in 2006) has long been a favorite of fans—especially students :: Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated

His insistence on beating cancer is rivaled by his insistence on continuing to work. The season on the sideline has only served to convince Vitale that he wants nothing to do with retirement. He tells a story about making his broadcasting debut in December 1979 in Chicago, calling a Wisconsin-DePaul game. His enthusiasm for the job, for college hoops, for being Dick Vitale … it’s all undented and undiminished.

I’ve told my bosses on numerous occasions that when the time arrives that I feel I’ve slipped in memory or lack the desire to prepare or simply not excited about getting to courtside for a game, I would be the first to say it’s over. & what a glorious ride it’s been. However, also if my health doesn't allow to fun croon like I have in the past I would not try to just hang out.

Earlier this week Zeitels performed surgery on Vitale’s vocal cords.

Dr. Zeitels told me yesterday the surgery was a challenge but because of his equipment he was able to complete what his plan was going into the surgery. … He was very confident after the 3 hours of intense surgery that he was able to achieve his goal. Now he said it is mandatory that I go on 4 weeks of total voice rest to help the healing process.

In a perfect world, Vitale will be speaking again by the time he holds the annual gala on May 6 to benefit the V Foundation for cancer research, established by Valvano and ESPN six weeks before Valvano’s death in 1993. Given the circumstances of Vitale’s health setbacks over the last year, the tenor will be different. So, he hopes, will the donations. Vitale has set a one-night goal of raising $7 million. Then, bring on the 2022–23 season.

I have so much energy and enthusiasm left in the tank/I will match my drive/desire with any 22 YR OLD. … I am greedy and want to be the first broadcaster to walk in and call a game at 100. Heck, that is only 18 years to go. Don’t bet against it happening/I guess nothing wrong with dreaming baby! ... I just need MY VOICE BACK.

To which, of course, there is only one real response: 💪 🙏 ❤️

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