Bryant Gumbel Will Receive The Sports Emmys’ Lifetime Achievement Award

Bryant gumbel - Paul Morigi / Stringer

Bryant Gumbel, African American sportswriter and former Today show anchor, has been chosen to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards. The ceremony will take place on Monday, May 22, at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) made the announcement on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

Gumbel, according to NATAS CEO Adam Sharp, has a rich career that has positioned him as an “icon and trailblazer in sports and entertainment." Gumbel's career spans decades, with credits including HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, NBC Sports, NBC News, CBS News, and numerous other projects. Gumbel's distinguished career as a TV journalist and sportscaster earned him several honors and accolades, including the Emmy, Peabody, NAACP Image, and Edward R. Murrow awards. Bryant Gumbel has hosted Real Sports since 1995, and the series has won 36 Sports Emmy Awards. His broadcast TV credits also include hosting The Early Show and the primetime newsmagazine Public Eye for CBS News.

The Sports Emmys' executive director, Justine Gubar, agreed with the selection, calling Gumbel a "consummate journalist, interviewer, and storyteller, and the sports media industry is thankful to the high standard Bryant continues to establish." Gumbel expressed his gratitude to NATAS in a recent statement, saying that "after 50 years in the business, sharing the same accolade with individuals like Jim McKay, Howard Cosell, and Vin Scully is heady stuff indeed."

Outside of the broadcast and sports media industry, 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.