By Cameron Lee
December 29, 2024
Rick Bonnell, the award-winning sports journalist who worked with the Charlotte Observer covering the Hornets since their inception in 1988, passed away in 2021, at the age of 63. The son of a sports journalist who graduated from Syracuse University, where he studied at the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Bonnell was a devoted, revered, and beloved member of the media. A former president of the Pro Basketball Writers Association, Bonnell documented it all: the Hornets’ early years with Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and Muggsy Bogues; the controversial relocation; the Bobcats era; and the eventual reclamation of the Hornets name.
The Inside the NBA crew reacts to the passing of long-time Hornets beat writer Rick Bonnell.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/n0PZSV0VY1
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 3, 2021
In 2021, the Spectrum Center media and employee entrance was renamed to honor Bonnell, and a photo collage greets media members on the event level as they make their way through the hallway. Since 2022, the Charlotte Hornets Foundation has awarded a $10,000 scholarship annually to a journalism student enrolled at a North Carolina college or university, continuing to honor Bonnell’s legacy. In its inaugural year, the scholarship was awarded to Noah Monroe, a Concord, North Carolina native, pediatric cancer survivor, graduate of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, and former writer at The Daily Tar Heel. Monroe is currently a media and content intern with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. The second recipient of the Rick Bonnell Memorial Scholarship was Bianca Rodriguez Castillo, a first-generation college student at UNC Charlotte and former employee of the Niner Times and Midas Magazine. In 2023, the scholarship was awarded to Shelby Swanson, a journalism student at the University of North Carolina and a current contributing writer for the News & Observer.
Applications for the fourth annual Rick Bonnell Memorial Scholarship are open through January 6, and the winner will be selected by a panel consisting of Bonnell’s former Charlotte Observer colleagues, his children (Jack and Claire), and Hornets staff members. The scholarship recipient will also be recognized with an on-court presentation accepting the scholarship at a Hornets game in 2025. Students can apply here.
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