Sports journalist and former “Today” show anchor Bryant Gumbel has been selected to receive a Lifetime Achievement award at the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards. The event takes place on Monday, May 22, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in New York.
The honor was announced Tuesday morning by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the Sports Emmys.
“Bryant has a storied career, from his start as a sportscaster in Los Angeles to five decades of celebrated work — every bit cementing him as an icon and trailblazer in sports and entertainment,” said NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp. “Bryant‘s incredible resume spanning ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,’ NBC Sports, NBC News, CBS News, and many other projects has brought dramatic and human news and sports stories to life for audiences throughout his career making him a clear front runner for this distinct honor.”
Gumbel is a decorated TV journalist and sportscaster whose past awards including the Emmy, Peabody, NAACP Image and Edward R. Murrow awards.
“For me the selection of Bryant for the lifetime achievement honor is a wholehearted endorsement of sports journalism,” said Justine Gubar, the head of the Sports Emmys. “Bryant is a consummate journalist, interviewer and storyteller and the sports media landscape is indebted to the high standard Bryant continues to set to this day.”
Gumbel has hosted HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” since 1995; the series has earned 36 Sports Emmy Awards. His broadcast TV credits include 15 years in the “Today” anchor chair, and a stint at CBS News as host of “The Early Show” and the primetime newsmagazine “Public Eye.”
“I’m humbled by this announcement and grateful to the folks at NATAS for this prestigious award,” Gumbel said in a statement. “After 50 years in the business, sharing the same honor with men like Jim McKay, Howard Cosell and Vin Scully is heady stuff indeed.”
Gumbel has received honorary doctorates from Bates, Xavier, Holy Cross, Providence College and Clark Atlanta University. He has served on the boards of the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of New York City and Xavier University in New Orleans.
