Renowned sports journalist Chris Mortensen is well-known not only for his incisive analysis and firsthand knowledge of breaking NFL news but also for the robust support network he enjoys at home, which is spearheaded by his spouse, Micki Mortensen. They have a strong friendship that has endured despite both life’s hardships and the pressures of a prominent career.
Micki has been the unsung hero of Chris’s successful profession, supporting him without wavering and maintaining stability at home. The couple’s long-lasting union is evidence of their love, respect, and understanding for one another and demonstrates how to strike a balance between personal fulfillment and career aspirations.
Who was Chris Mortensen?
Known to his pals as “Mort,” Christian Anthony “Chris” Mortensen (November 7, 1951 – March 3, 2024) was an American journalist who was considered a pioneer for his year-round coverage of the National Football League (NFL).
The work that has made Mortensen most famous is that he did for the cable television network ESPN. He regularly contributed to NFL GameDay, NFL Countdown, and the network’s Outside the Lines series, which are all award-winning football programs. Additionally, he frequently contributed to ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, and SportsCenter on the network.
Chris Mortensen Wife
Micki Mortensen was Mortensen’s spouse. Alex Mortensen, their son, was a professional quarterback before becoming a coach. Chris Mortensen was a Bella Vista, Arkansas, resident who identified as a Christian.
In a statement released by ESPN on January 15, 2016, Mortensen revealed that he had been given a stage IV throat cancer diagnosis and would, as a result, be taking a leave of absence from his on-air duties at the cable network.
Mortensen lived for eight years after receiving the diagnosis, passing away on March 3, 2024, at the age of 72, at his son’s Birmingham, Alabama, home.
ESPN's Adam Schefter narrates emotional tribute to his friend and colleague Chris Mortensen the day after his death at 72 https://t.co/enLxDX2Hhs pic.twitter.com/5cZKngl9Wy
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 5, 2024
Chris Mortensen’s Career
According to Mortensen, he started his journalism profession when he discovered he could no longer play baseball, basketball, or football after high school. He gave up on his dream of becoming a coach and instructor after learning how cutthroat sports journalism could be.
Mortensen began his journalism career in 1969 with the Daily Breeze newspaper in Torrance, California, and went on to win eighteen journalism honors. He was the overall winner of the 1978 National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting.
He produced a movie titled The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling in 1999. Erroneously, Mortensen said on January 21, 2015, that 11 of the 12 footballs used in the AFC Championship Game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots on January 18, 2015, complied with NFL regulations, weighing 2 pounds per square inch (PSI; 13.8 kPa).
As per the Wells Report, out of 22 readings (where each ball was examined twice using separate gauges except for the ball that was intercepted), only one was found to be under 2 PSI.
The remainder fell between 1.8 and 0.2 PSI (12.4 and 1.4 kPa) below. As late as August 13, 2015, Mortensen’s original piece was still posted on ESPN without any retraction, correction, or apology, even after it was refuted in the Wells investigation.
On July 31, 2015, Mortensen was scheduled to speak on WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan radio show; however, he canceled. “I will not allow WEEI, Kraft, or anybody to make me the centerpiece of a story that has been misreported far beyond anything I did in the first 48 hours,” Mortensen reportedly said, according to WEEI.
