Corrupt, sure, but ESPN went all out for their employees with this one.
The four-letter network came up with a scheme to use fake names in order to obtain Emmy Awards statuettes for their on-air talent who weren’t eligible, according to The Athletic. ESPN‘s operation reportedly went on for 13 years before the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), who overlooks the Emmys, put a stop to it in 2023.
Apparently running it since 2010, ESPN‘s scheme involved them submitting fake names of made up people (who happened to have the same initials as their talent) with a fake role of “associate producer,” and then re-engraving the statuettes to issue them to their stars, the outlet reported.
ESPN‘s plot even earned (if you want to use that word) Emmys for the superstar talent of “College Gameday” — yes, that “College Gameday,” and how they didn’t already have trophies is quite incredible to me, The Athletic reported.
From @TheAthletic: Since at least 2010, ESPN inserted fake names in Emmy entries, then took the awards won by some of those imaginary individuals, had them re-engraved and gave them to on-air personalities. https://t.co/v0Gr9woOnR pic.twitter.com/19mGuXPO76
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 11, 2024
Now I’m not condoning ESPN’s scheming, but I will say that it’s a bit admirable how they looked out for their own.
Today, most companies will just give you your paycheck and tell you to eff off, chew you up and spit you out, wear you down and make you jaded at life. You get the point … but ESPN? (RELATED: Taylor Swift, Subscriptions And Cupcake-ism: What The Hell Is Going On With The NFL?)
They were out here literally going ALL OUT to get their talent Emmy awards. I can’t even hate on that.