Religion Of Sports' "False Idol" Named Best Sports Podcast At 2022 Hashtag Sports Awards

LOS ANGELES, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Religion of Sports, an award-winning production company, won the award for "Best Sports Podcast" at the fourth annual Hashtag Sports Awards held Tuesday night in Las Vegas. The company was recognized for its seven-part podcast series, False Idol, which re-examined the rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic sprinter, telling the story through the eyes of the people whose lives he irrevocably changed along the way.

Religion of Sports had a total of five nominations at the 2022 Hashtag Sports Awards, as Man in the Arena and Simone vs Herself were also recognized for excellence in engagement. Both productions were finalists in the Best Original Content or Series (10+ minutes) category. The audio companion podcast for Man in the Arena was shortlisted in the Best Sports Podcast category and Simone vs Herself was nominated for Best Women's Sports Content.

"We are honored to have been recognized by Hashtag Sports for three of our audio and video content series which resonated significantly with a global audience over the course of the past year," said Ameeth Sankaran, CEO, Religion of Sports, who also served as a presenter at the Hashtag Sports Awards. "At Religion of Sports, we pride ourselves on storytelling, impact and examining the sport and its impact on life and our broader society. False Idol is an incredible story which is representative of the high-quality, premium content we aim to create with every release. I am proud of the entire team for this significant achievement."

"We're very honored to be recognized by Hashtag Sports, and I'd like to say, thank you to everyone who spoke to us for this podcast, all the people who shared their stories with us," said Tim Rohan, host of False Idol. "Thank you for helping us tell Reeva Steenkamp's story, and for helping us shine a light on some important issues."

False Idol was a narrative podcast series on the life of Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic sprinter who was once considered the greatest Paralympian of all time. He made history at the 2012 London Games, becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics. Six months later he was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Across seven episodes, False Idol explored Pistorius' rise and the tragic events that followed, in addition to complex issues like hero worship, gender-based violence, and race in post-Apartheid South Africa. The popular audio series told the story through the eyes of the people Pistorius changed forever, and brought needed attention to the life of Reeva Steenkamp. Hosted by Rohan, who previously worked with The New York Times and Sports Illustrated as a reporter covering sports at the intersection of culture, politics and crime, the podcast was brought to audiences in collaboration with PRX, a public media organization who Religion of Sports has an extensive and valued, audio partnership with.

This honor comes during a period of significant momentum for the company. In June, Religion of Sports announced the successful close of a Series B $50 million fundraising round with the intent to develop new ownable content IP, to further scale its substantial creator network, and increase global strategic partnerships. Religion of Sports has worked with some of the world's greatest athletes and continues to expand its content aspirations through documentary, audio, feature films and more.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Religion of Sports is an award-winning media company founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan, and Gotham Chopra. To believe in the power of sports is to experience religion, and the company's work is defined by thoughtful, elevated stories that explore a range of themes and uncover why sports matter.

Through scripted and unscripted video, podcasts, feature films and social content Religion of Sports distills the spirituality, science and humanity that unites elite performers and people of all kinds. Since its inception, the company has built an impressive array of work in collaboration with the world's most elite athletes, distributed across big- and small-screens for digital broadcast/streaming platforms Facebook Watch, Apple TV+, ESPN, Showtime, Fox Sports, NBC Sports and many more. "Tom vs Time'' and "Greatness Code" went on to win Sports Emmy awards. In 2021, Religion of Sports experienced a banner year, having grown the company exponentially and expanding its production capabilities. In addition, three highly anticipated documentary projects were launched back-to-back in the 3rd and 4th Quarters of 2021, featuring Simone Biles ("Simone vs. Herself"), Russell Westbrook ("Passion Play") and Tom Brady ("Man In The Arena"). On the audio front, the company produced a companion podcast to run alongside the "Man In The Arena" docuseries, and debuted three original, investigative podcasts - "Lost in Sports", "Crushed", and "False Idol" – the latter two of which have been Ambies-nominated for 2022 Best Sports Podcast. 

Media Contact: 
Kristen Marion
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SOURCE Religion of Sports