FOX Carolina 21Talk show host reveals secret to help other victims

It's been a year of ups and downs for popular sports talk show host Dan Scott.

He was named play-by-play announcer for Furman sports.  Yet, after more than a decade he had to find a new home for his talk show.

However, Scott knows all about adversity, and he's been using his microphone to share his story and to help others.

For Upstate sports fans, his voice is instantly recognizable.

Scott has covered teams like Furman and Clemson for more than a decade as a play-by-play announcer and talk show host.

Recently, though, instead of talking about everyone else's lives, Dan became the focus when he admitted on-the-air that he had been sexually abused by older boys when he was just 9 years old.

Scott said, "In the previous weeks on the show, I had been, in referencing Penn State, had been saying, we've gotta protect our children. If you know something is going on, you gotta talk about it, come forward if you've been a victim, or whatever. And, I finally decided, if you're gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk."

Most people can't imagine how difficult it must have been to reveal something so personal to a large radio audience.

Scott says, it was actually more challenging when he finally decided, it was time to tell his story to those closest to him.

He remembers, "So, I told my family the night before, which was significantly harder since I have two daughters, 21 and 16. Significantly harder than doing it on the air the next day. It was almost easy. I don't know if that's the right way to explain it, but after telling my family it was almost like no big deal."

Dan says, other than his parents, who helped stopped the abuse when he was 9, he had never mentioned this to anyone.

Experts like Shauna Galloway Williams, the Executive Director of the Julie Valentine Center, say, Dan isn't alone.  Williams says, many people wait decades before coming forward to admit they were victims of sexual abuse.

Williams said, "Right now, most of our adults, clients, are adults who've survived child and sexual abuse. And, many of them never told as a child. Many of them, for the first time, are seeking help, and have lived most of their lives as a secret they've never let anyone know about."

Recently, after calling a Furman basketball game at Columbia University in New York, Dan had a lot of time to think as he drove more than 700 miles back to the Upstate.

As he rolled along the highway, Dan decided, instead of covering up the negative events of his life, he could be honest about them, and perhaps turn them into something positive for others.

"And, I just thought, if I shared my experience with someone publicly, maybe that it would help someone who's been struggling with it. And I got … had to be about 100 responses from people who said they had been abused as children or women who'd been raped."

The response was so overwhelming Dan has decided to start and lead the Every Day Foundation.

Scott said, "I want to help children. That's always been my main focus. Special needs kids, at risk kids, and now kids who've been sexually, physically, emotionally abused."

Once Dan is able to start raising money, one of the places he wants to help is the Julie Valentine Center, in Greenville, which specializes in helping victims of sexual abuse, including men, much like Dan.

Shauna Galloway Williams added, "We've seen a dramatic increase in males who want support services. And, a few years ago, we had to stop providing our male support group because we lost funding to do that. And, now more than ever, we need to get that started. And that's the thing I thought of, with Dan. Let's really work together and partner and try to get services back in place for men."

To say, this has been a time of transition for Dan, would be an understatement. Besides admitting that he's a victim of sexual abuse after decades of silence, he's also lost 160 lbs.

"From the weight loss standpoint, to the abuse standpoint, the human body and the human mind is a remarkable thing if you allow it to be. I haven't always allowed mine to be. I think I'm getting better at that."

By the way, Dan's talk show has a new home. 

You can find him on three radio stations in the Upstate and one in Charleston on the Score Sports Radio Network Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, from noon until 2 p.m.

All the info is on scoresportsradio.com.

If you'd like to donate to the Every Day Foundation, just head to the As Seen On section of foxcarolina.com where you'll find a link to Dan's web site.

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