In the fall, both BTN and ESPN released features on Maryland football’s Melvin Keihn. ESPN’s short feature, which aired on the Sept. 2 episode of College GameDay, won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Short Feature Tuesday night.
Keihn’s story is incredible. He left war-torn Liberia as an 8-year-old, escaping a second civil war. After growing into a Division I football player and a man, he returned to his home country for the first time since he left to see his mother, Satta Johnson, in July of 2017. Their reactions are heartwarming.
BTN’s production was nominated but did not win an Emmy—it was in a different category—but is just as touching, and well worth the watch if you’ve got half an hour to spare.