Rick Bonnell, award-winning sports reporter, dies at 63

If you talked with Rick Bonnell for five minutes or for 50, he invariably would drop a “What I’m saying is…” on you. Maybe a dozen or two, if you stayed on the phone long enough.

It was a habit, a verbal tic for Rick the way “uh” or “y’know” or some end-of-the-day cliché is for a lot of us. But it was born from his desire to understand and to be understood, to clarify and to strive for crystal clear communication the way a great reporter should.

Sometimes he would interrupt his first sentence in an energized conversation and start his second with a “What I’m saying is..” before he’d said even once what he now was rephrasing. But it was innocent and earnest and a part of what made Rick Rick.

There were other, bigger, more important parts: Terrific reporter, proud father, loyal friend, compassionate neighbor. He was the dean of Charlotte Hornets basketball media and, for sheer continuity, one of the lions of NBA writers spanning parts of five decades.

Rick also was that rare newspaper sports writer who loved his job, raved about his bosses and rooted for that dead-tree medium to thrive, or at least endure beyond his career, which he confided to me recently that he wanted to continue until he was at least 70 years old.

Rick was found dead Tuesday at his home. He was 63.

The NBA family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Rick Bonnell, a devoted NBA reporter who began covering the Charlotte Hornets in their inaugural season more than 30 years ago.

Complete statement: pic.twitter.com/uU1Z5r7zKV

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 2, 2021

Bonnell was a valued member of a shrinking Charlotte Observer newsroom, but as is the case with most journalists even pre-pandemic, he spent more time out of the office on his beat than rubbing elbows inside. He was around colleagues like me – Rick took over as president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association when I stepped down in 2007 – as much he was any co-workers, and even more so the players, coaches, front-office execs and other members of the Hornets.

There was no title attached but for all practical purposes, Bonnell was the unofficial archivist of the Charlotte franchise(s), the guy you’d call or text with questions great or small. On topics from Kelly Tripucka, Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues in the inaugural “Alexander Julian” pinstripes right through the current club’s Bismack Biyombo, Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball, it always was quicker for Rick to rattle off the top of his head the answer, with a “What I’m saying is…” or two, than to actually start digging into it yourself.

The son of a sports journalist and a graduate of Syracuse from upstate New York, Bonnell moved to North Carolina in 1987 for a year of college basketball coverage out of the Observer’s Raleigh bureau. In 1988-89, he took over as the paper’s NBA/Charlotte beat writer and manned that helm ever since.

Rick Bonnell, 63, was found dead in his Charlotte home on Tuesday by a friend, his son said. https://t.co/B6bSg6jsS4

— The Charlotte Observer (@theobserver) June 2, 2021

He covered 10 versions of Hornets (or Bobcats) who reached the playoffs and a lot more that never came close, including – without complaint, the bunch that went 7-59 in 2011-12. Even when the original Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002 and Rick spent time covering college ball, the NFL Panthers, tennis or other pursuits, he was ready and waiting when the NBA delivered an expansion team to town in 2004.

Given his tenure and reporting chops, Rick either knew whatever you needed to learn about Hornets history or he had the phone number of anyone else who might know it. But here’s the key for those of us who still value professionalism in what often is referred to as “the toy department” of news outlets: He always stayed one of us, not one of them.

What does that mean? A lot of folks who cover one team for a long time (or sometimes not-so-long time) can drift toward the team and its priorities in ways that co-opt a reporter. They become what’s known in the business as “homers,” favoring a franchise and its personnel in coverage, pulling punches on tougher angles or to use a common expression these days, spinning their work.

Never a problem for Rick. If the best reporters straddle the gap between insider (close enough to learn things) and outsider (detached enough to stay curious and share honestly with the audience), Rick in my view remained smack in the middle. He could explain that a player’s poor performance in a given week might be due to a sick child at home, but he could argue for a job firing even if he dealt daily on a first-name basis with the person in that post.

Rick never pulled for the Hornets or anyone else he covered – he rooted for the story. That’s why he was respected by other media types. It’s why he was trusted by the Hornets, right up the flowchart to owner Michael Jordan, the reclusive GOAT who would respond to Rick’s texts.

“I’m very sad to learn about Rick’s passing,” Jordan said in a statement. “Rick was a staple at Hornets games, dating back to my playing days at the old Charlotte Coliseum. He prided himself on being fair and honest in his reporting, and I truly respected that about him. Rick became the source for Hornets news in Charlotte, which speaks to his talent and professionalism. The Hornets’ family will miss Rick’s friendly face at our games. I send my condolences to his family and friends.”

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Hornets long-time beat writer Rick Bonnell. Our Chairman and players share their thoughts and memories of the Charlotte legend.

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 2, 2021

Bonnell rooted for his newspaper, too. He mentored and touted a succession of young reporters and editors at the Observer and even other Charlotte outlets, delighting in their career arcs. He considered cooking to be his hobby, he loved tennis and his walks on a nearby greenway and, as hard as he worked, carved out time to decompress with a book and some beach at Hilton Head or Litchfield Beach, S.C. In recent years, he made sure to take good care of himself physically and mentally, carefully managing a job that can consume anyone who lets it.

Fans of the NBA and the Hornets in particular lost Tuesday a piece of what they love about the league and team. Rick was their eyes and ears, asking questions and demanding answers on their behalf, even as he’d laugh or rail about some of the responses he’d get on social media.

His son Jack and daughter Claire lost a devoted father, his sisters Deborah and Diane move on without their loving brother. The co-workers in that Charlotte newsroom will never have a better teammate or advocate.

What I’m saying is, as with our own Sekou Smith in January, I lost a dear friend who leaves a permanent hole in mine and so many others’ hearts.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.