In this May 19, 2015, Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp poses at Comerica Park in Detroit. Sharp, a longtime Detroit sports columnist, died Friday, Oct. 21 2016, at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb, The Detroit Free Press said. He was 56. Sharp joined the paper as a sports writer in 1983 and was named a columnist in 1999. (Diane Weiss/Detroit Free Press via AP)
Republished October 21, 2016 - 1:07 PM
Original Publication Date October 21, 2016 - 11:55 AM
DETROIT - The Detroit Free Press says sports columnist Drew Sharp has died. He was 56.
The newspaper says Sharp died at his home Friday in Bloomfield Hills, a Detroit suburb. The cause was hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
Sharp spent decades at the Free Press, joining the paper as a sports writer in 1983. His wife, Karen Sharp says her husband "loved his job more than anything."
When he was named a columnist in 1999, Sharp told readers that his job wasn't to "blindly lead cheers" or simply "slam" people from his perch. He said he had a responsibility to "raise questions and express doubts."
His last column this week was about Michigan State's basketball team.
Sharp covered the Detroit Pistons for years before becoming a columnist. The team expressed its condolences.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016