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| Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor (TMZ Graphic) |
UPDATE 3 PM, 7/6/21: ESPN has benched Rachel Nichols for its coverage of the NBA Finals, following the uproar for her comments regarding Maria Taylor in 2020, where she suggested Taylor was picked over her to cover last year’s NBA Finals because of her race.
Malika Andrews will serve as the sideline reporter during the 2021 Finals; Nichols had held that position throughout the playoffs as part of ESPN’s top broadcast team with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. Nichols will still host her daily ESPN show “The Jump” on-site during the series.
Taylor will host the pre-game and halftime studio coverage, as she’s done all postseason. The NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns tip off Tuesday night from Phoenix on ABC.
Earlier story...
In an effort to turn the spotlight back to the upcoming NBA Finals, ESPN broadcaster Rachel Nichols on Monday offered an apology over the contents of a leaked phone call and comments she made about ESPN colleague Maria Taylor,
reports USAToday.
A New York Times
report highlighted ESPN's attempts to calm a year's worth of animosity between the two that touched on racial issues and at one point caused several prominent ESPN personalities to take sides.
On Monday afternoon, Nichols opened "The Jump," the daily NBA show she co-hosts, with a simple and straightforward message:
"So the first thing they teach in journalism school is don't be the story. And I don't plan to break that rule today or distract from a fantastic Finals, but I also don't want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN, how deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt -- particularly Maria Taylor -- and how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team."
On a phone call from May 2020, Nichols complained about Taylor being selected to host ESPN's NBA Finals coverage, insinuating that the decision was made not on merit, but because the network was "feeling pressure about (its) crappy longtime record on diversity."
Nichols has said she has no animosity toward Taylor and that she has reached out multiple times via text and phone calls.
Monday, she made sure Taylor got the message by also sharing it with ESPN viewers
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| Stephen Jackson |
Meanwhile, FOX News reports former NBA player Stephen Jackson came to the defense of ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, after she made comments about her colleague Maria Taylor, calling it a "diversity" hire when the 24-hour sports network gave her the hosting job of "NBA Countdown" during the 2020 NBA Finals inside the Orlando bubble.
Jackson, who has made several appearances on Nichols’ ESPN show, "The Jump", defended her and blamed the network for the issue after they gave Taylor "a sympathy job" amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
"We all ramble. We say things when we are frustrated. And you know, Rachel [Nichols] did deserve that job. It’s just plain and simple. I talked to Rachel and I know a lot of things she was saying out of frustration because ESPN put her in a bad position," Jackson said during a rant on Instagram. "And they even put Maria [Taylor] in a position trying to give her a sympathy job.
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