Sideline commentator Rachel Nichols was pulled from her position covering the NBA Finals earlier this week after comments concerning her colleague Maria Taylor surfaced.
What We Know:
- Nichols has been the sideline reporter for ESPN at several national games and was present at last year’s finals. She was replaced with newcomer Malika Andrews after a New York Times article was published referencing a recording acquired by the paper. Taylor had been selected to lead the network’s studio show, and Nichols said, “I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball. If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it.”
- The racial implications of Nichols’ comments have put the network under fire. ESPN pulled Nichols in hopes of getting a handle on the situation. She is off the sidelines for the finals but will still be hosting her afternoon show “The Jump.” The network released a statement saying this was the “best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA finals.”
- Taylor has been in the midst of contract negotiations. She had turned down an offer for $5 million, hoping to receive more following ESPN’s acquisition by Disney. However, due to the pandemic and Nichols’ comments, her contract still hangs in the balance.
- The situation disheartened NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as it pitted two women in the industry against one another. He responded, critiquing ESPN, “I would have thought that in the past year, maybe through some incredibly difficult conversations, that ESPN would have found a way to be able to work through it.” Nichols has privately reached out to Taylor to apologize and publicly apologized to “The Jump.”
- “The first thing they teach you 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,” Nichols stated Monday, “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.”
In an industry lacking female commentary, Nichols’ comments, though from a year ago, do not go unnoticed despite the lack of repercussions from ESPN.
