WWE's New Head Of Media & Production Named In ESPN Scandal

New WWE Head of Media & Production Lee Fitting has been named in a scandal that has engulfed ESPN this week. 

The Athletic has reported that over a number of years, ESPN inserted fake names in Emmy entries. Upon winning the awards, they were then re-engraved and given to on-air personalities, including the likes of Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Samantha Ponder, and Kirk Heibstreit, although the on-air talents don't appear to have known the Emmys were wrongly obtained. Over 30 statuettes were given to on-air talent through the scheme. 

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the company that administers the Emmys, have sanctioned ESPN. This has resulted in Lee Fitting, WWE's new Head of Media & Production, receiving a ban from future participation in the Emmys. 

ESPN said in a statement: "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. This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team. 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. We brought in outside counsel to conduct a full and thorough investigation and individuals found to be responsible were disciplined by ESPN."

According to Andrew Marchand of New York Post, the scandal was a factor in Fitting's departure from ESPN in August 2023.

"It's been a bit of a mystery as to why Lee Fitting was let go by ESPN this summer, but I'm told the Emmy trophy name changing scheme was a factor in his dismissal. Fitting was just hired by WWE as its head of media media and production," Marchand tweeted.

Fitting was hired by WWE this week, effectively taking over Kevin Dunn's previous role as Chief of Global Television Distribution. Fitting spent over 25 years with ESPN as the Senior Vice President of Production, overseeing production on the likes of Monday Night Football and College GameDay. 

Fitting's hiring has reportedly caused some "internal dismay" within WWE.