Hannah Storm Mourns the Loss of Her Father Mike Storen: ‘You Will Be Missed in So Many Ways’

Just like so many of us, ESPN broadcaster Hannah Storm is mourning the loss of live sports during this time of quarantine.

But now, she is also dealing with the loss of her own father.

On Thursday (May 7,) Storm’s father Mike Storen passed away at the age of 84 after a grueling battle with cancer. He died at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

“If you knew my dad, you knew not only the profound impact he had on the sports industry, but also on the people he encountered,” Storm wrote in part in a touching Instagram post alongside a pic of her and her father during happier days. “He was creative, larger-than-life, relentlessly positive, a fierce leader, inspiring, a forward thinker and above all, my greatest supporter.”

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If you knew my dad, you knew not only the profound impact he had on the sports industry, but also on the people he encountered. He was creative, larger-than-life, relentlessly positive, a fierce leader, inspiring, a forward thinker and above all, my greatest supporter. It is with a heavy heart and much sadness that I share that Mike Storen, loving father, grandfather, husband, proud member of the Fighting Irish family, and renowned sports executive, passed away today due to his battle with a rare form of cancer. I’m so proud of my dad’s legacy – as a distinguished member of the US Marines he helped launch the now-famous Toys for Tots program – and then forged a decades long sports career, as an executive for teams such as the Baltimore Bullets, Cincinnati Royals, Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Memphis Sounds, Atlanta Hawks and baseball's Houston Astros as well as football’s Memphis Grizzlies and the IPFL.  His proudest accomplishments are from his days as Commissioner of the American Basketball Association. His creativity was evident everywhere and he was instrumental in the success and legacy of that league;  the name, Mike Storen, is still there on any old ABA basketball you might come across and I take comfort in that. I am so grateful for all of the time I had with him, and for all of the time he spent with my daughters. I learned so much from him, but most importantly, he set the example for the kind of parent I strive to be for my girls, one who lives their dreams in a such way that it inspires and enables your children to do the same. I am honored to continue to carry on his legacy through my own career in sports, and I know he was immensely proud to have a daughter who embraced his world and made a career for herself there too. Rest in peace, Dad. You will be missed in so many ways. I love you. Hannah Lynn

A post shared by Hannah Storm (@espnhannahstorm) on May 7, 2020 at 6:00pm PDT

She continued, “It is with a heavy heart and much sadness that I share that Mike Storen, loving father, grandfather, husband, proud member of the Fighting Irish family, and renowned sports executive, passed away today due to his battle with a rare form of cancer. I’m so proud of my dad’s legacy – as a distinguished member of the US Marines he helped launch the now-famous Toys for Tots program – and then forged a decades long sports career, as an executive for teams such as the Baltimore Bullets, Cincinnati Royals, Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Memphis Sounds, Atlanta Hawks and baseball’s Houston Astros as well as football’s Memphis Grizzlies and the IPFL.”

Throughout his career, Storen had served as a former ABA commissioner and also worked in sports marketing. He also served as general manager of the Indiana Pacers and Kentucky Colonels and president of the Atlanta Hawks.

According to the New York Post, Storen is survived by wife Lynn; sons Mark and Duke and daughter Hannah by his first wife, Hannah; two stepdaughters, Susan Duncan and Lisa Roberts; and 14 grandchildren.

“Rest in peace, Dad,” Storm concluded. “You will be missed in so many ways. I love you.”