In March 2023, Shelley Smith, an on-air reporter at ESPN for 26 years, received a call from Stephanie Druley, then the network’s head of studios and event production. Smith recalled Drury saying she wanted to talk about something “serious” and needed to stay between the two. She then told Smith that he needed to return the two Sports Emmy statuettes given to her more than a decade ago.
Last year, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), which administers the Emmys, revealed a scheme that the network had used to acquire television spots for more than 30 shows. Coveted statuettes are awarded to on-air talents who are ineligible for them. Since at least 2010, ESPN has inserted fake names into Emmy entries and then re-inscribed some of the awards won by fictional characters and awarded them to on-air personalities.
According to a source with knowledge of the matter, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard and Samantha Pond were among those who received the contract. The road to the Emmys is unclear. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. There is no evidence that the broadcasters knew that their Emmy Awards were obtained through improper means.
“I think what they did to me and others was really bad,” said Smith, who worked at ESPN from 1997 until her contract expired last July.
NATAS discovered the fraud, prompting a subsequent investigation by the organization and ESPN. These investigations resulted in sanctions in addition to the return of the trophy. While it’s unclear who masterminded the plan, ESPN’s NATAS staff includes Craig Lazarus, vice president of original content and features and executive producer, and Lee Fitting, senior vice president of production for “College GameDay” and other programming. was ruled ineligible to participate in future Emmy Awards.
ESPN said in a statement: “Some names submitted by some members of our team are clearly incorrect and may date back to the 1997 Emmy categories, when they were not eligible for recognition or statuettes. This is a A misguided attempt to honor on-air personnel who were important members of our production team. When current leadership became aware of the situation, we apologized to NATAS for the code violation and worked closely with them to overhaul our submission process to Prevent similar situations from happening again.
“We retained outside counsel to conduct a full and thorough investigation and the individuals found responsible were subject to disciplinary action by ESPN.”
NATAS’s Adam Sharp said in an email: “NATAS discovered a number of false casting lists submitted by ESPN for the Multi-Sports Emmy Awards. When it was brought to the attention of ESPN’s senior management, the network took action against them. personnel acted responsibly, conducted a thorough investigation and course-corrected. These steps include ESPN’s return of the figurines issued to fictional individuals and a commitment to implement further internal accountability and procedural changes at the network.”
An ESPN spokesman said Lazarus declined to comment, and Lazarus did not respond to an email seeking comment. Fetting was fired from ESPN in August after 25 years with the company. He did not respond to voice calls or text messages.
The centerpiece of the program was “College GameDay,” a show that Fitting helped turn into a cultural phenomenon and revenue machine. It won eight Emmy Awards for Outstanding Weekly Studio Performance from 2008-18. But until 2023, NATAS guidelines prohibit on-air talent from being included in the credit list for the category. College GameDay hosts, analysts and reporters can earn individual awards such as Outstanding Host, Studio Analyst or Emerging Broadcast Talent, and they can also win individual feature awards. But they are not eligible to take home the trophy by winning the show. This rule is designed to prevent cutting-edge talent from receiving two awards for the same work (referred to as a “double award” in the NATAS rulebook).
ESPN circumvented this rule by inserting pseudonyms into its College GameDay roster submissions to NATAS. Competitor A list of the show’s winning years was reviewed: 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. In each of those seven years, names similar to those of the radio personalities with the same initials were all listed under the heading “Associated Producers.”
Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Tom Rinaldi all appeared in seven years. Steven Ponder (Sam Ponder) and Gene Wilson (Gene Wojciechowski) appeared in five movies between 2014-18. Chris Fowler appeared in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015. Shelley Smith appears in the 2010 credits. Smith also won an Emmy Award for his work on the show in 2008, though it’s unclear how the statuette was earned.Shelley Saunders was not included in the credits viewed in 2008 Competitor. However, networks can modify the credits after a show is declared the winner.
When reviewing the 2010 and 2011 credit lists, Competitor Three other unverifiable names were found to be very similar to those of College GameDay players: Erin Andrews in 2011; Wendi Nix and Jen Brown in 2010 Smith (Jenn Brown). Nix confirmed that she won an Emmy Award around 2010 and said she had no idea the award was obtained through improper means; it just came in the mail one day. No one contacted her to return it before or after she left ESPN in August 2023. Brown, who left ESPN in 2013, confirmed she had received one but was unaware it was illegal. “This is all news to me, and it’s kind of unfortunate because some people believe they deserve to have one. Rules are there for a reason… and unfortunately (these rules) have been abused over the years,” Brown said. , ESPN has not yet contacted her about the return. Andrews, who left ESPN in 2012, declined to comment through a spokesman.
When asked why people at the network would plot to win trophies for on-air talent, one person involved in ESPN’s Emmy submission process in recent years said: “You have to remember that these characters are so important and they have egos. Smith pushed back, noting that some executives have office shelves filled with figurines. One executive interviewed during the ESPN investigation said that some company leaders are obsessed with the Emmy Awards, using the number of awards they win each year to prove their dominance over their competitors: “It’s a big deal for award show people and old-school people. It’s very important to say that.” People from the TV industry. ” Additionally, many at ESPN think the rules that prevent on-air personalities from receiving statuettes for winning shows are silly. They might just decide to do something about it, regardless of the rules.
NATAS beefed up its credit verification process in 2022, and at some point that year ESPN was asked to verify certain names. The network eventually admitted they were fake. NATAS noted the scheme in its 2022 Transparency Report: During the credit review process, the Sports Authority discovered that a network was using a false identity in connection with one or more submissions. The matter has been referred to attorneys and remains pending.
As recently as 2020, fake names appeared in ESPN’s Emmy submissions for “College GameDay,” a year when the show didn’t win, but they didn’t appear in the 2022 submissions. (Competitor No access to the 2021 credits for this show. )
College GameDay’s on-air personalities may not be the only ones getting statuettes they’re not eligible for. In November 2023, Linda Cohn, the anchor of “SportsCenter” since 1992, posted a photo of her four-time Emmy winner on Instagram and wrote: “My Fab 4. Posted today Latest. Still grateful.” In the foreground of the photo is the 2023 Emmy Award for Outstanding Daily Studio Show. Cohen is eligible for the award due to a rule change. She is listed under “Host” in the credits, and the word is inscribed on the base of the statuette. As for the three Emmys in the background of the photo, one wrote:
studio performance
ESPN Sports Center
Linda Cohen
Two others read:
Outstanding Studio Performance of the Day
“Sports Center”
ESPN
Linda Cohen
According to NATAS rules, Cohen is not eligible to receive a statuette as an on-air personality for SportsCenter’s win in the daily studio show category until 2023, and NATAS confirmed that Cohen has only won one Emmy. Cohen referred all questions to an ESPN spokesperson.
According to the latest version of the Emmys rulebook, forging credit could result in disqualification and a requirement to return the trophy. According to NATAS, 37 ill-gotten trophies have been returned to date. Smith returned the 2008 award but not the 2010 award, which she had gifted to a relative. Wojciechowski, who quit ESPN last summer, declined an interview request. We reached out to Rinaldi, who left ESPN for Fox in 2020, on Wednesday, but said he didn’t have time to talk. He subsequently did not respond to multiple text messages.
Lazarus and “College GameDay” coordinating producer Drew Gallagher were ruled ineligible for future Emmys. Drury was not ruled ineligible for a future Emmy; she won a 2023 Emmy as executive producer of “Monday Night Football.” But she was replaced on the Emmy steering committee by another ESPN executive.
Gallagher and Drury declined to comment through an ESPN spokesman.
The names of Lazarus, Fetting and Gallagher did not appear on the list announced during the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards show on May 22, 2023 in New York. A year ago, Lazarus’ name appeared on various shows, including eight as executive producer and once as supervising producer. Fitting has been listed as an executive producer six times. Drew Gallagher was twice listed as coordinating producer. A year later, they weren’t listed at all.
College GameDay’s 2023 awards list also does not include Executive Producer, Senior Coordinating Producer or Coordinating Producer. “Sanctions resulting from the investigation include a one-year disqualification from the ‘College GameDay’ senior leadership statuette,” NATAS said in an email.
Shortly after Smith’s phone call with Drury last March, a courier arrived at her California home, wrapped the 2008 figurine in a white plastic bag and took it away. But Smith still has the Emmy she won in 2018 for the show “E:60” Story.
“I was happy to win the (2018) championship,” Smith said. “But other times (trophies) would just show up and I wouldn’t even know I deserved one.”
(Picture: John Bradford/The Athletic, Photos: Cooper Neill, Ronald Martinez, Michael Buckner/Getty Images; Headshot: Getty Images)
