Both are highly excitable, loud and rambunctious broadcasters. One has been among the most recognizable figures in American sportscasting for decades and is an icon. The other is a teacher at a Catholic middle school in Webster Groves who moonlights calling soccer games locally.
Dick Vitale, the 85-year-old legendary ESPN and ABC college basketball commentator, and 32-year-old City SC radio play-by-play broadcaster Joey Zanaboni are at vastly different points in their careers. But their paths sure have crossed in volatile fashion in recent days, as Vitale on social media referred to a campaign Zanaboni runs as “an illegal scam using my name†to solicit donations on behalf of a charity Vitale staunchly supports.
Zanaboni counters that he legitimately is trying to raise money for that charity, the V Foundation. He said all funds that have been collected have gone directory to the charity, and that Vitale’s ire is the result of a misunderstanding that apparently has been resolved after several rocky days.
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The V Foundation was founded in 1993 by ESPN and former college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who was dying of cancer, to procure donations to benefit research in the battle against that disease. Organizers say the effort has distributed more than $353 million in grants for research over the years, and Vitale not only has been a vocal supporter of the group but has been a major fundraiser. He holds an annual gala that the foundation says has raised nearly $93 million over the last 19 years.
Vitale takes the charity personally and has been affected by the disease himself. Last week he had surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node from his neck, the fourth time in less than three years that he had developed cancer. He previously was treated for melanoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and vocal cord cancer.
The background
The wick for fireworks between Vitale and Zanaboni was lit last Friday, the day after the Fourth of July, and originally did not involve Zanaboni. Vitale went on multiple social media platforms to vehemently denounce a campaign that claimed to be raising money to help him with his medical expenses. The biography on the message soliciting donations identified the person organizing the effort as “Micheal,†a “public figure†and “personal assistant†to Vitale.
Potential donors were directed to GoFundMe, a well-known fundraising website, and the plea for money was worded to play on peoples’ emotions.
“Thank you for your unwavering support for the legendary Dick Vitale,†it said. “We consider you part of Dickie V’s Top Fan, and we’re reaching out because we need your help during this challenging time. As you may know, Dick Vitale is courageously battling cancer for the fourth time and we want to rally around him with love, strength and financial support.â€
It says the GoFundMe account was established “in his name to help cover the costs of his treatment and care. Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to helping Dickie V overcome this tough opponent.â€
Balderdash, Vitale says.
“This message ... on my behalf is NOT LEGIT!†he posted. “This guy says he is my personal assistant — please followers Do not respond to him as I have NO IDEA WHO THIS IS. HE IS A FRAUD & he is now contacting my followers on Instagram — Facebook — email.â€
The Zanaboni tie-in
There was no reference to Zanaboni there.
But after Vitale made his plea online, someone posted an image of the illustration Zanaboni has used in his fundraising campaign for the V Foundation, which is called “.†The graphic refers to ESPY week, when ESPN annually presents the sports version of the Academy and Grammy awards shows. It’s the forum at which Vitale’s close friend Valvano gave his famous, inspirational speech in 1993 that was the catalyst to the foundation’s success.
It’s also why the V Foundation is so extremely important to Vitale, who introduced Valvano before he gave his speech that night, embraced him immediately afterward and helped him walk down steps to leave the stage. (Coincidentally, this year’s ESPY event took place Thursday night.)
The person who posted the image of Zanaboni’s GoFundMe page also asked Vitale on the sites if that venture was “legit or should it be reported?â€
Vitale emphatically answered, using some fragmented sentences and awkward grammar often found on social media.
“The first scam (Vitale misspelled it as s-c-a-n) I had to deal with was a fraudulent Go for FUND of me. Now an illegal scam using my name in an ESPY not legit scheme — pls report — don’t participate with these con artists.â€
Zanaboni, who calls Ambush indoor soccer matches in addition to his more high profile MLS role, responded to that post in a message directed to Vitale in which he says his actions were above board.
“Dickie, there seems to be some confusion here,†he posted. “I am the organizer of (that). I started that a few years ago when you were first diagnosed. All funds are donated directly to the V Foundation. To date we have donated $2K, half of which I have donated personally.â€
As of Thursday, the page remained active and showed $900 in donations attributed to Zanaboni and $700 more listed as anonymous. There was a total of $2,100 committed overall, with the last contribution coming a year ago.
Zanaboni’s message to Vitale also said:
“As you can see, I did this to honor your legacy and was very intentional about selecting the GoFundMe option that directs all funds raised directly to the charity. I feel bad that someone else tried to take advantage of you, but the VoiceForV fundraiser is 100% legitimate.â€
“You are a massive hero of mine, and it pains me personally there’s been any confusion,†Zanaboni added. “I want to come to this from a place of understanding and compassion. Can you clarify this post?â€
Vitale could not be reached for comment, but Zanaboni addressed the matter with the Post-Dispatch:
“I created my Dick Vitale fundraiser in January 2022 in response to his public cancer announcement, and happy to say that so far, we have donated $2,100 directly to The V Foundation through the GoFundMe platform. While ours was a legitimate fundraiser, I share his and others’ frustration that people would try to take advantage as he fights this terrible illness.
“Dick Vitale is a personal hero of mine, and I encourage others to go to to give what they can to fund cancer research.â€
By Thursday, Vitale’s posts about the so-called “personal assistant†scam reference remained online but his biting comments about Zanaboni’s campaign were gone. Zanaboni told the Post-Dispatch that “Dick Vitale’s team removed all posts regarding my fundraiser. I am glad the confusion has been cleared up.â€
Medical update
Vitale, meanwhile, has posted that his operation last week has had positive results thus far.
He said this week on social media that he had a post-surgical exam, a drain in his neck was removed and that the doctor said the “healing process from removing cancerous Lymph node is going well.â€
He added that six weeks of radiation treatments were recommended “to wipe out any cancer cells in the area of the cancerous Lymph node.â€