A shocking report indicates ESPN, the leading sports network, has been using fake names to obtain Emmy Awards for their on-air talent, specifically for their – seemingly – popular show College GameDay.
The scandal is truly remarkable. ESPN, which any viewer knows has flaunted their Emmy wins over the years, committed “fraud” for over 13 years by submitting fake names to the credit list for the awards.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) discovered the fraudulent activity which was revealed in a bombshell report by the Athletic.
“NATAS identified a number of fictitious credits submitted by ESPN to multiple Sports Emmys competitions,” said the organization’s president, Adam Sharp.
“When brought to the attention of ESPN senior management, the network took steps to take responsibility for the actions of its personnel, to investigate thoroughly, and to course correct,” he added.
This course correction included ESPN having to return the “statuettes issued to fictitious individuals” and a vow “to implement further internal accountability and procedural changes at the network.”
ESPN was forced to return dozens of Emmy awards after it was discovered the network obtained them using fake name entries. @danabrams discusses the network’s terrible start to the year.
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) January 12, 2024
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Big Names At ESPN Outed
Some of the biggest names were outed in the report regarding the Emmy scandal.
Submitting fake names allowed ESPN to secure awards for on-air talent, such as Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, and Samantha Ponder, who were not eligible for recognition or statuettes under the Emmy rules.
Aside from returning the statues given to people that didn’t exist, ESPN issued an apology and took disciplinary action against those responsible for the scheme.
Key executives like Lee Fitting, who was the senior vice president of production and oversaw “College GameDay” and other properties, were let go.
Perhaps he should have been let go for a lack of creativity. Look at this list of name changes the network apparently used:
The scandal, according to ESPN’s own statement, may stretch back 27 years.
“Some members of our team were clearly wrong in submitting certain names that may go back to 1997 in Emmy categories where they were not eligible for recognition or statuettes,” they wrote. “This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team.”
