Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Longtime Charlotte Observer
sportswriter Rick Bonnell was found dead in his home Tuesday. He was
63.
Jack Bonnell, Rick’s son, confirmed the news to the Observer’s Scott Fowler. No foul play is suspected.
“We are all so devastated at the
Charlotte Observer but I must report that our beloved colleague Rick
Bonnell has suddenly passed away,” Fowler wrote on Twitter. “Rick
was a Hornets beat-writing legend, a father, a generous colleague.
Honestly, I don’t know what we are going to do.”
Bonnell spent more than 33 years at the
newspaper and became its first beat writer for the NBA’s Charlotte
Hornets, which began play in the 1988-89 season. He continued to
cover the team during its most recent 2020-21 campaign.
“Work was a huge part of his life,” Jack Bonnell told Fowler. “He took a lot of pride in what he did. He liked
telling stories—in the newspaper, and in life.”
He added his father was “a guy who
achieved his lifelong dream by covering an NBA team so long and so
well.”
Bonnell was on vacation following the
conclusion of the Hornets’ season and recently returned from a trip
to South Carolina, per Fowler. His son became worried when his father
didn’t return messages and had a friend check on him Tuesday night.
Jack Bonnell said his father likely died from natural causes.
Here’s a look at some of the response
from the media community following the news:
Katie Peralta Soloff @katieperalta
I was lucky to call @rick_bonnell a friend and mentor over the years— long after we were no longer colleagues. He was a font of institutional knowledge and humor. I learned a lot from him and from the stories we wrote together. He was a good man with a good heart. I am very sad.
Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
It pains my heart to hear that @rick_bonnell has passed away. There was no greater historian of Hornets basketball since it’s arrival to Charlotte than him. He often offered a kind word when he liked your story. One of the vets that always deserved respect. Rest In Peace Rick. https://t.co/wCHgDyDoxg
Along with his work at the Charlotte
Observer, Bonnell previously served as the president of the
Professional Basketball Writers Association.
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