"Violating the rules of engagement in the cutthroat world of sports television awards" is how Sports Illustrated is covering the latest commotion at ESPN, after the cable sports network was forced to hand back dozens of Emmys won by its College GameDay program. The story was first reported by the Athletic, which on Thursday counted 37 "ill-gotten trophies" from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, or NATAS, that had to be returned. The reason? A NATAS investigation found the Emmys had been earned under phony names going back to at least 2010, submitted in what looks like an attempt by ESPN to get around rules on who's eligible to receive an award. College GameDay had picked up eight Emmys for outstanding weekly studio show between 2008 and 2018. But, to prevent "double-dipping," on-air talent had some restrictions in place until last year.
To wit, as explained by the Athletic: "Hosts, analysts, and reporters on College GameDay could win individual awards, such as outstanding host, studio analyst, or emerging on-air talent, and they could win for an individual feature. But they were not eligible to take home a trophy for a win by the show." That's when someone (or multiple someones) decided to vie for the Emmys using fake names instead of those of the real stars, using similar initials; the talent was then given their trophies later, after the win was secured. It appears that ESPN would accept the trophies, then have them reengraved with the real stars' names on them before handing them over. Among the talent caught up in the awards plot, per a source who talked to the Athletic: Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Shelley Smith, a 26-year ESPN veteran whose contract ended last summer.
As Entertainment Weekly notes, however, the Athletic found no evidence that the winners of said awards had been "in on the ruse." "I think it was really crummy what they did to me and others," Smith, who gave back her 2008 Emmy, tells the Athletic; she'd already given another trophy she won in 2010 to a relative as a gift. In a statement, ESPN noted the scheme was "a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team." The network says it also apologized to NATAS and is working with the group to make sure something like this never happens again. As for who was behind the machinations, it doesn't appear NATAS was able to glean that from its probe, though sanctions have been handed down, and some top execs have been deemed ineligible for future Emmys participation. Much more here on the scheme. (More ESPN stories.)
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