Desmond Purnell

Desmond Purnell is a multi-Emmy award-winning sports reporter for Merit Street Media. Desmond served as a college sideline reporter for CBS Sports Network and ESPN. He also broke multiple stories as a national correspondent for the NFL Network. Desmond was also the host of SEC Gridiron LIVE for Fox Sports Networks, which won an Emmy for "Best Regularly Scheduled Sports Program." Desmond brings great knowledge and the insight of a former collegiate athlete, having played football at Mississippi State University. The Mississippi native began his career as a sports anchor/reporter in Rapid City, S.D., where he was the first ever African American television broadcaster in that market.