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ESPN star Kirk Herbstreit pays heartbreaking tribute to singer Brett James after dying in a plane crash

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By JAMES COHEN, SPORTS REPORTER

Published: 17:16 BST, 19 September 2025 | Updated: 17:24 BST, 19 September 2025

ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit has paid a heartfelt tribute to singer Brett James after he tragically died in a plane crash on Thursday.

James, 57, was onboard his Cirrus SR22T when it went down near a school at around 3pm in Franklin, North Carolina, WLOS reports.

He and the only two other passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, with the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announcing the news later in the night. James was inducted into the Hall in 2020.

Tributes swiftly began pouring in for the singer and iconic broadcaster Herbstreit followed suit by penning an emotional message on his social media.

He wrote: ‘Was calling a game last night when I got the news on a text that Brett was in a plane crash and didn’t make it.

‘Living in Nashville, I’ve been very fortunate to meet a lot of incredible people…Brett was certainly that-one of the most talented and yet humble and down to earth guys I’ve met.

ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit has paid a heartfelt tribute to singer Brett James after he died

Songwriter James, 57, died in a small plane crash on Thursday

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‘He was a legend as a songwriter and one of the most respected people in that town. He sang at my 50th along with Casey Beathard-such a good man.

‘Just heartbreaking-my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends as they cope with this unthinkable reality’.

Officials are now investigating what caused the plane – which departed from Nashville, Tennessee, at around 12.41pm – to suddenly go down.

In the meantime, the songwriter is being remembered for his country tunes, including Underwood’s Grammy-winning Jesus, Take The Wheel and The Truth by Jason Aldean.

For his work, James was twice named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Country Songwriter of the year.

Herbstreit, meanwhile, made headlines earlier this month after he appeared to compound Bill Belichick’s misery on his college football debut in a hot mic moment.

Belichick and UNC suffered humiliation when they endured a blowout 48-14 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs on the coach’s debut.

No one onboard the small Cessna survived the impact of the collision

James said his goal was to create songs that connected with people on emotional levels

At the start of the fourth quarter, Herbstreit was overheard saying what many fans believed to be ‘they’re bad,’ before chuckling.

The comment would have been a brutal but accurate assessment of UNC’s performance given the 41-14 scoreline after the third quarter.

However, the 56-year-old later took to social media to defend himself, clarifying that he actually said, ‘you’re bad.’

‘Must be a slow night..not sure why this is so confusing. I said “YOU’RE bad” to my spotter Deron for something funny he said when we were just coming back on air,’ Herbstreit wrote in response to another account that had shared the clip.

North Carolina

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ESPN star Kirk Herbstreit pays heartbreaking tribute to singer Brett James after dying in a plane crash

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