Five years after a vocal cord injury put his broadcasting career in doubt, Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck revealed it was the result of a hair-plug surgery gone wrong.
According to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, Buck clarified the circumstances surrounding his paralyzed left vocal cord in 2011 as part of his upcoming memoir entitled Lucky Bastard: My Life, My Dad, and the Things I'm Not Allowed To Say on TV.
Buck initially told everyone, including Fox, the ailment was a result of a virus. He now admits he was addicted to hair-plug surgery, and complications as part of his eighth such procedure led to the issue.
The 47-year-old broadcaster explained why he decided to keep the situation a secret for so long, per Deitsch:
I was lying. I think people bend the truth all the time, unfortunately. It was really for self-preservation and ego for me. As I look back, I gave partial truths. Where I lied was when I said the reason why. People would ask, "Why is your vocal cord paralyzed?" I said it was a virus. I didn't say it was an elective procedure to add hair to the front of my head. It was embarrassing. There's an embarrassing element to that. Any surgery done to improve one's looks is not really something someone wants to talk about. So it's very cathartic to get this out. There are a lot of people across the country, for as silly as this sounds, who obsess about hair loss. I would tell myself I needed to look younger, I needed to have thicker hair, I don't want to look older than I am. The truth of it is that it was an ego thing, whether I was on TV or not.
Buck also revealed that telling the truth about the vocal cord injury was his biggest motivation behind releasing the memoir:
When I started thinking about writing a book, this was the main reason why. It wasn't about stories with my dad. I wanted to detail the time in my life where I had a lot going on and I was stressed, a time when I started to take anti-depressants and was going through a divorce. Then I had this situation with my voice that rocked me to my knees and shook every part of my world. I'm 47 years old now and willing to be vulnerable sharing a story. Whether the book is read by one person or one million doesn't concern me. Getting this out and being honest, really telling my story, that was was the impetus behind this.
Buck is the son of legendary St. Louis Cardinals announcer Jack Buck, and he has been with Fox since 1994.
He became Fox's lead MLB play-by-play man in 1996 and has held the same role for NFL games since 2002, primarily alongside Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman.
Buck is the most recognizable voice Fox Sports has to offer, and while that was nearly taken away from him, he has bounced back and will add another impressive feat to his resume when he calls his 19th World Series in the coming weeks.
