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ESPN lineup reporter Rachel Nichols reports the game in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Playoff Western Conference Finals on June 24, 2021 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Jim Gates | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
ESPN will cancel its Rachel Nichols-hosted show and remove the longtime reporter from NBA coverage amid ongoing reactions to the race-related comments she made about her former colleague Maria Taylor, confirmed the network Wednesday.
ESPN will be withdrawing Nichols’ weekday show “The Jump” and plans to replace it with new NBA content. It is not known when the program will stop airing.
“We mutually agreed that this approach to our NBA coverage was the best for everyone involved. Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and reporter, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content,” David Roberts, vice-president senior president of production. at ESPN, said in a statement.
Nichols appeared to confirm the cancellation of his show on Wednesday. In a tweet, she said: “The Jump was never meant to last forever, but it was really fun.”
She added: “More to come …”
A New York Times report in July revealed comments Nichols made a year earlier to Adam Mendelsohn, adviser to NBA superstar LeBron James, who made waves in Walt Disney-owned company and around the world. of the NBA.
In remarks captured on video without her knowledge, Nichols said she believed Taylor got a job hosting ESPN’s coverage before and after the 2020 NBA Finals game because she is black and the network was trying. improve its diversity record.
“If you need to give her more to do because you feel the pressure from your long-standing record for diversity – which, by the way, I know personally on the female side – go for it. “Nichols, who is white, said in an audio released by The Times.
“Just find it somewhere else. You’re not going to find it at my place or take my thing with me,” she said.
Following the Times report, ESPN put Nichols on the bench while covering the 2021 NBA Finals. After a brief hiatus, she took over the animation of “The Jump.”
After the audio of his commentary surfaced, Nichols apologized to Taylor on air.
Taylor left ESPN earlier this year after failing to secure a contract extension with the network. She joined NBC Sports and was a host and correspondent at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the US licensee to broadcast all Summer and Winter Games until 2032.
– CNBC’s Steve Kopack contributed to this report
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