Paula Lavigne joined ESPN in 2008 as an investigative reporter. As part of ESPN’s enterprise unit, Lavigne covers investigative stories that appear on multiple ESPN platforms for television and online. She has investigated sexual assault and other crimes in professional and college athletics, bribery in college basketball, fan food safety at professional ballparks, gambling on youth sports, fraudulent pro-athlete charities, athlete medical care, and many other topics in sports.

Lavigne has been recognized for her investigative journalism with several awards including a George Foster Peabody Award for her work investigating sexual assaults within Michigan State athletics, an Alfred I duPont-Columbia University Award for an investigation on a youth football gambling ring, multiple Investigative Reporter and Editor awards, two Sports Emmy nominations, three New York International TV & Film Awards and a Gracie Award.

In addition to her role at ESPN, Lavigne is also the co-author “Violated: Exposing Rape at Baylor University Amid College Football’s Sexual Assault Crisis” a book she and ESPN.com senior writer Mark Schlabach wrote about Baylor University and its handling of sexual violence among students.

Before joining ESPN, Lavigne worked as a reporter and data analyst for the Des Moines Register, The Dallas Morning News, and The News-Tribune in Tacoma, Washington, and has a background in data journalism and mining public records. She has a bachelor’s of journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MBA from Creighton University.