ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson, Bears reporter, dead at 44, network says

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Jeff Dickerson, a reporter for ESPN who covered the Chicago Bears, died Tuesday, the network reported. He was 44.

The Bears posted on Twitter that the team is "heartbroken" to learn of Dickerson’s death and called him the "consummate professional."

"JD took a great deal of pride in his coverage of the Bears for 20 years," the team said. "He was a true professional and even better person."

Soldier Field, built in 1924, home of the Chicago Bears since 1971 (Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Larry Mayer, a Bears website writer, posted that Dickerson’s wife died in 201. They left behind an 11-year-old son.

ESPN reported that Dickerson died of complications from colon cancer while being treated at the "same hospice care facility that his wife, Caitlin, died in two years earlier."

He is survived by his son and both parents.

Colleagues from ESPN praised Jeff Dickerson for his professionalism and determination in the face of adversity. (ESPN)

The report praised Dickerson for maintaining a positive attitude throughout his treatment and becoming a source of inspiration for colleagues. 

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"I don't know anybody I've met in my 54 years in life who has handled adversity over the last decade with more grace and strength and dignity than Jeff Dickerson," Tom Waddle, the host of ESPN 1000, said. "I know a lot of people go through [stuff]. I do. I'm sympathetic to all of it. But what Jeff Dickerson has had to go through the last decade is cruel."