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Rachel Nichols’ time on ESPN seems to be over.
The network is removing the longtime journalist and host from all NBA programming and canceling her weekday show “The Jump.” ESPN senior vice president of production David Roberts confirmed the decision to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand on Wednesday.
“We mutually agreed that this approach to our NBA coverage was the best for everyone involved,” Roberts told SBJ in a statement. “Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content. “
Nichols confirmed the news on Twitter while thanking his “The Jump” production team with a promise of “more to come”.
Nichols still has over a year on her contract, but she is unlikely to appear on the network during that time, according to the report. News of Nichols’ exit comes less than two months after a New York Times report revealed internal disputes at ESPN over comments Nichols made about his colleague Maria Taylor during the 2020 NBA bubble suggesting that she took her place on ESPN’s airwaves because of a diversity effort rather than its merits. Nichols is white and Taylor is black.
Since that report, ESPN has removed Nichols from coverage of the NBA Finals and Taylor left the network for NBC Sports when his contract closed in July.
According to SBJ, “The Jump” will continue to air for the next two weeks without Nichols. ESPN will produce a new NBA show the afternoon before the start of next season to replace it. Roberts spearheaded the Nichols decision after resuming his role overseeing the network’s NBA coverage two weeks ago and has more changes in store for his league studio coverage, according to SBJ.
While news of Nichols’ comments broke in July, they had escalated internally at ESPN for a year. She made the comments during a phone call with longtime LeBron James advisor Adam Mendelsohn. She would have done so without knowing that a nearby camera was still spinning and recording the conversation on ESPN servers.
An ESPN staff member saw the video, recorded it on his cell phone and shared it internally before it was released to the media, according to the Times.
“I wish Maria Taylor all the best in the world – she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said in the leaked audio. “If you need to give her more to do because you feel the pressure from your long-standing diversity record – which, by the way, I know personally on the female side – go for it. You just have to find it elsewhere. You’re not going to find it at my house or take my stuff away.
Nichols made his comments after ESPN decided that Taylor, not Nichols, would host the network’s pre-game show “NBA Countdown” during the 2020 NBA Finals. According to the Times, Taylor refused to work at on air with Nichols after seeing a video of his comments. Taylor continued in his role as host of “NBA Countdown” until the 2021 NBA Finals before his departure for NBC Sports.
Nichols joined ESPN as a reporter in 2004, primarily covering the NFL and NBA. She left the network for CNN and Turner Sports in 2013 before returning to ESPN in 2016, when she started hosting “The Jump”.
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