Doing what it takes to win, irrespective of ethics and fair play, happens all too often these days. Fans don’t want that approach to seep into competitive sports. The same thinking should apply to sports media companies and their employees.
ESPN had to return approximately 37 Emmys after a cheating scandal was exposed. Between 1997 and 2023, employees submitted fake names of reporters and on-air personalities in the quest to win converted Emmy awards. If ESPN won an award, employees would re-engrave it, removing fake names and replacing them with on-air personalities.
Winning an Emmy cements the winner as a person at the top of their field. But awards must be earned. Winning a sports award by falsifying information is equivalent to a steroid-using athlete being named All-America.
Cheating, plagiarism, and lying should be taken seriously in sports and entertainment, and penalties must be levied against the persons involved and organizations where they happen. In this case, the Emmys are tightening their review process. That’s necessary. But the Emmys didn’t do anything wrong; ESPN staff did. Yes, the Emmys are sanctioning the involved ESPN employees, but shouldn’t ESPN pay a larger price?
It may seem harsh, but I believe ESPN should suffer other penalties.
