Report: ESPN used fake names to get Emmy Awards

(NewsNation) — ESPN was forced to give back more than 30 Emmy Awards after it was discovered that the network used fake names to get golden statues for top talent on its flagship college football show “College GameDay,” according to reporting by The Athletic.

The outlet says the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the organization that administers the awards, uncovered a scheme the network used to acquire more Emmys for staff ineligible to receive them.

Until last year, on-air talent was prohibited from being included in a credit list in the outstanding weekly show category to prevent “double-dipping” or winning two awards for the same work. ESPN reportedly skirted that rule by adding fake names to the credit list.

The Athletic says the scheme had been carried out since at least 2010 and included awards being given to personalities including Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Samantha Ponder, Chris Fowler and Desmond Howard. There’s currently no evidence the on-air talents were aware the awards were not properly obtained.

In a statement to The Athletic, ESPN said: “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. This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team. Once current leadership was made aware, we apologized to NATAS for violating guidelines and worked closely with them to completely overhaul our submission process to safeguard against anything like this happening again. We brought in outside counsel to conduct a full and thorough investigation and individuals found to be responsible were disciplined by ESPN.”

A NATAS representative said ESPN has returned awards issued to fictitious people.

“NATAS identified a number of fictitious credits submitted by ESPN to multiple Sports Emmys competitions. 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. These steps have included the return by ESPN of statuettes issued to fictitious individuals and commitments to implement further internal accountability and procedural changes at the network,” the representative told The Athletic.

NATAS reportedly strengthened its verification process in 2022.