Steven Sotloff Beheading Video: He was a Miami Heat Fan & 4 Other Facts About the US Journalist

"Jihadi John" is back, this time with American reporter Steven Sotloff in tow. The 31-year-old hostage is no stranger to those who have seen a previous ISIS clip, where U.S. journalist James Foley was shockingly executed by the black-clad fighter with a noticeably British accent. That's because Sotloff was shown at the end of the Foley footage as the next person to be executed if U.S. President Barack Obama fails to do what the militants believe is the right thing.

And now, a recent report by The New York Times revealed that Sotloff was allegedly murdered by ISIS in a manner similar to Foley's execution.

"The hostage, Steven J. Sotloff, is shown in the video kneeling like the previous victim, James Foley, while a masked figure stands above, wielding a knife," the publication said. "Mr. Sotloff addresses the camera and describes himself as 'paying the price' for Mr. Obama's decision to strike the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, in northern Iraq."

The execution apparently came through "despite televised pleas from his mother to the leader of ISIS seeking mercy for her son."

We have since known much about Foley in the wake of his death at the hands of ISIS members. This time, let's get to know Steven Sotloff and perhaps understand how he came to be ISIS' most recent victim.

He's a Nationally Recognized Freelance Journalist

"Sotloff is a renowned journalist who has worked for TIME Magazine, among others, and been a guest on CNN and Fox News," Heavy noted.

Also, he had spent about two years reporting on the Arab Spring and its aftermath, The Atlantic added. "He'd risked his life to report from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Turkey. His reporting vividly captures the Middle East's convulsions in recent years-the ecstasy of revolution, the tortuous paths of political transitions, the anguish of civil war."

This means that Sotloff had already been in and around the Middle East when the Syrian civil war, as well as the ISIS crisis, escalated.

He was Based in Syria During His Disappearance

Even though Syria is considered "the most dangerous country in the world for journalist" for more than two years now, as noted by The Wall Street Journal, Sotloff still chose to go and cover events in the troubled nation. And so it was there that he was "abducted near the Turkish border in Syria in August 2013."

He Attended UCF

"Mr. Sotloff attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he wrote for Central Florida Future, an independent student newspaper," WSJ shared. "He applied to the journalism program at the university, but left after two years without graduating."

According to The Telegraph, a former roommate described him as a "loyal, caring and good friend."

"The guy lit up a room," Josh Polsky was quoted as saying. "If you needed to rely on anybody for anything he would drop everything on a dime for you or for anyone else."

He's Described as an Atypical War Junkie

A friend and fellow reporter who has also covered the Syrian conflict, Yasmin Al Tellawy, said that Sotloff was "a shy, sweet guy."

"He's not like the typical war junkie, front-line journalist. He cared about people. He cared about colleagues and friends," she revealed.

"Every Muslim who knew (Steven) is probably mortified and horrified that someone who really was a friend of the Muslim and Arab people has met his end this way," commented Ann Marlowe, Hudson Institute's visiting fellow who had collaborated with Sotloff during the Libyan revolution in 2011. "He believed in the Arab Spring. He believed in democracy. He believed that Arabs and Muslims deserved the same opportunities we have in the West."

He's a Miami Heat Fan

Being a Miami native, he was naturally drawn to rooting for basketball team Miami Heat and was observed often tweeting about the group.

"Indeed, his last message sent the day before his kidnap was about the side," The Telegraph said.

"How much of an impact with big man #GregOden have with #MiamiHeat next season?" his last tweet, sent on August 3, 2013, read.