Canton native Dustin Fox opens up on air about personal struggles, leaving 92.3 the Fan

Canton native Dustin Fox is leaving his 13-year radio home at 92.3 the Fan, he announced on the air Monday afternoon.

Fox, a former defensive back for the Ohio State Buckeyes who played on the 2002 national championship team, was part of the original lineup when the sports station debuted 13 years ago.

Fox said it was just time for him to move on for personal reasons – although he didn’t close the door to potentially returning to radio.

“This is just a chapter of my life ending for now,” Fox said in talking to on-air partner Nick Wilson.

Fox mentioned that one of the biggest reasons for his departure is his children, an 11-year-old and a freshman in high school. But while that was a driving force, there were other things he considered, his mental health being one.

Fox said that he was on the “doorstep of dying” at the end of January, not the first time it he found himself in that position. His on-air presence was scattershot during the first couple months of 2024.

“I was basically having a mental breakdown and everything was spiraling,” he said, “and I was tired of it, so I got help…I was not healthy and I was going to die and people close to me were worried, very worried about me.”

He said that his career-centric focus cost him many things in life, including his marriage. Part of him getting healthy, he said, is getting sober. Fox said he’s been alcohol free for more than 200 days.

Fox will be gone from Cleveland’s airwaves, but he still will be heard on ESPN college football broadcasts, beginning with the Kent State at Pittsburgh game as a game analyst. His last day on 92.3 the Fan is Thursday.

Fox played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. He made his name in football at GlenOak where he was a first team All-Ohio defensive back in 1999 and 2000.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Canton native Dustin Fox opens up on air about personal struggles, leaving 92.3 the Fan