NATAS Announces Bryant Gumbel to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Sports Emmys on May 22

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announces that Emmy, Peabody, NAACP Image and Edward R. Murrow Award winning television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement at the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony, which will take place on Monday, May 22, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in New York.

“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,” says Adam Sharp, President & CEO of NATAS. “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.”

“For me the selection of Bryant for the lifetime achievement honor is a wholehearted endorsement of sports journalism. 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,” says Justine Gubar, the Head of the Sports Emmys.

Bryant Gumbel said, “I’m humbled by this announcement and grateful to the folks at NATAS for this prestigious award. After 50 years in the business, sharing the same honor with men like Jim McKay, Howard Cosell and Vin Scully is heady stuff indeed.”

One of television’s most accomplished broadcasters, Gumbel has hosted Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel on HBO since 1995 where he has interviewed sports legends and reported on a variety of topical issues in the sports world. The series has earned 36 Sports Emmy Awards. Previously, Gumbel was with NBC for more than 20 years, where he hosted Today for 15 years, longer than anyone else in the show’s history. He also worked at CBS News where he hosted his own prime-time program, Public Eye, as well as the network’s morning news program, The Early Show, before retiring from broadcast network television.

Gumbel has compiled a remarkably diverse array of accomplishments. He has interviewed superpower leaders and Super Bowl heroes, and has covered foreign wars, elections, international summits and presidential inaugurations. He has anchored and reported from all corners of the globe, including Europe, China, Australia, Russia, Cuba, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East

In addition to his many Emmy awards, Gumbel has received a great number of accolades including the Frederick D. Patterson Award, the Martin Luther King Award from the Congress of Racial Equality, the United Negro College Fund’s highest honor and three NAACP Image Awards. For orchestrating and anchoring the Africa broadcasts, Gumbel has been honored with the International Journalism Award from TransAfrica, the Africa’s Future Award from the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, and the leadership award from the African American Institute. 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, Xavier University in New Orleans and his alma mater.