John Brenkus, 54, dies after battle with depression
John Brenkus, the Emmy Award-winning creator and host of ESPN’s Sports Science, has died at the age of 54, his family announced Sunday night.
Brenkus’ death was confirmed in a post shared to his official social media account. He had openly discussed his long-standing struggle with depression and previously revealed that he had survived a suicide attempt in 2023.
Brenkus rose to prominence through Sports Science, a programme he launched in 2007 on Fox Sports Net before it was picked up by ESPN.
The show, which combined athletic performance with biomechanics and physics, ran for over 1,800 segments and garnered six Sports Emmy Awards.
The programme examined everything from sprinting speeds of NFL players to the physical stamina of competitive eaters. Despite the often light-hearted topics, the show was praised for making complex science accessible to general audiences.
In recent years, Brenkus had revived the show independently on his own platform. He remained a respected figure in the sports media industry, with numerous tributes pouring in following news of his death.
“He was kind, encouraging, smart and inventive,” sports analyst Matthew Berry wrote in a post. “This is awful. RIP John Brenkus.”
Tributes also came pouring in on X (formerly Twitter) once the news broke out.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III also shared a tribute, writing: “The man who gave us the Emmy-winning Sports Science lost his battle with depression.”
Prayers up for John Brenkus and his family 🙏🏾
The man who gave us the Emmy Winning Sports Science lost his battle with depression at the age of 53. pic.twitter.com/QSxjh0U4ubBrenkus is survived by his wife and two children.