ESPN's Scott Van Pelt Pausing Hosting 'SportsCenter' Due to COVID-19 Diagnosis

ESPN's Scott Van Pelt is putting his role as the lone anchor of the midnight ET edition of SportsCenter on hold following a positive test for COVID-19, he announced in a tweet on Thursday. 

The 54-year-old said he has no fever but lost his senses of smell and taste, which prompted him to get tested for the coronavirus. 

This is not the first time that the network has been affected by the virus. College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit tested negative for the virus after a close contact in September, but he still elected to join a broadcast remotely in September. Desmond Howard appeared on the show from his home after testing positive at the end of October. 

Analyst Todd McShay was hospitalized after he tested positive for the virus. He missed the NFL draft as a result.

McShay told Scott Gleeson of USA Today that he was coughing "constantly," struggled to breathe and would sleep for 15 hours straight while he was battling the virus. He was separated from his family for more than a month. 

Van Pelt has hosted SportsCenter since 2015. He has worked for the network since 2001, when he became ESPN's lead golf reporter—a role he still holds today for ESPN's coverage of the Masters and The Open Championship. He previously worked at the Golf Channel from 1995 to 2000.

His Bad Beats segment is an often-viral part of the midnight broadcast, when he focuses on sudden changes to a game that affect the betting line, perhaps more so than the scoreboard. 

ESPN has yet to announce what will become of the midnight SportsCenter broadcast with Van Pelt taking a break.