Local news anchor Leon Harris is leaving NBC4 Washington for good, more than four months after he initially left the station after a broadcast in which he fought strongly.
The tall journalist called the departure on Tuesday a “difficult decision” he took with his “health and family” in mind as he became a title for all the wrong reasons for a shaky segment of thanksgiving.
“Many of you have kindly asked me for me in the last few months,” he said in a statement on the NBC Washington website.
“As you know, I left to focus on my health and family. After 40+ years of non -stop job and dramatic changes in the news and television industry, I have made the difficult decision to leave my role in NBC4.”
Harris, 63, was with the local station for eight years. He has previously worked for 21 years in CNN’s morning programs and 14 years in WJLA, according to his Bio station.
He covered major news events, including Oklahoma city bombing, Oj Simpson’s trial and September 11 terrorist attacks.
“We are grateful for the eight years of Leon’s service in our newsroom,” NBC4 Washington said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We thank him for his commitment to our community, dedication to journalism, hard work and friendship. He will be missing and we do not wish him anything but the best.”
Harris, who has dealt with alcohol abuse and health problems in the past, faced unpleasant questions about the thankful news segment in which he sometimes hesitated and stuck in the air.
The station said that then he was taking time to focus on unspecified health issues.
Harris first spoke about his battle with alcohol in March 2022 after he got into trouble to slam into another car while driving under influence.
He also faced a great deal of health in 2013 when he was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis and almost died.
“My pancreas essentially decided to start dying and taking my kidneys, my lungs and other internal organs along with it,” he told CNN more than a month after the frightening medical episode.
More information about Harris’s exit from the NBC associate was not discovered on Tuesday.
“This is the right time to prioritize my health and family,” he said in his Tuesday statement.
“A special thank you to my amazing colleagues, friends and especially for our viewers who waited in their homes. It’s been an honor. Thanks.”
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