ESPN has issued an apology to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in light of a report that the network submitted fake names for Emmy Awards consideration and had to return 37 trophies given to on-air talent as a result.
“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,” ESPN said in a statement released Thursday, per The Athletic.
“This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team,” the statement continued. “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.”
