2024 Features (Broadcast) Winners

About the Winners:

In April 2023, Fort Myers High School baseball players staged a walkout on their own teammates six weeks after an assistant coach sent a text message to the team that included a racial slur. The culture wars playing out in Florida schools over the teaching of race and culture, book banning and more are in full effect in Lee County, and they exploded in real time during that baseball season, tearing the team apart. 

ESPN presented an in-depth report exploring the events leading up to that day, and the fractures in the community– personally, professionally and legally– from the ensuing fallout. Told by ESPN senior writer Howard Bryant and director Nicole Noren via longform text and investigative documentary, this is the story of two players of color who were left behind on the field while their teammates walked out. This is a film about the players, parents and program who were affected and what this situation can teach about divisiveness in America and its effect on young people.

Comments From the Judges:

“This story is such a microcosm of bits and pieces of our country now. Good job finding it. This was a tough story. Y’all did some great reporting and told it well. I really appreciate how this story showed how the incident pit[s] the students against the parents. What a tough story to tell. I appreciate how you let the video and people tell the story, not a talking head.”

“This was an excellent piece on a sad and disturbing incident that brought forth a story that warranted the documentary and long-form article. The outlet did a great job gathering various elements to share the story without using reenactments, etc.” 

Photo credit: ESPN