ESPN’s Rachel Nichols won’t be the NBA Finals reporter following Mariah Taylor’s comments

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ESPN anchor Rachel Nichols will not be a side reporter for this year’s NBA Finals, the network announced Tuesday.

The finals begin Tuesday night between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks and will be broadcast by ABC. Nichols was expected to return this year to work on the sidelines as she did last year, but ESPN said in a press release that the role would instead go to reporter Malika Andrews.

The network said Nichols will continue to host “The Jump,” and Maria Taylor will return as host before and half of the game, along with analysts Galen Rose and Jay Williams and reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nichols’ departure comes a day after she apologized for comments she made in a leaked phone call suggesting that Taylor, who is Black, had been chosen to host last year’s Finals because the network was under pressure to address its “long poor record in diversity.”

“We believe this is the best decision for everyone involved in order to maintain focus on the NBA Finals,” Ben Cavardo, director of communications for ESPN, told NBC News in a statement about Nichols not returning to the sideline.

Her apology came after The New York Times published an article highlighting tensions in the sports network following a July 2020 phone conversation that Nichols inadvertently recorded on a camera that was feeding video to the company’s control room.

In an excerpt of the call published by The Times, Nichols stated that her colleague, Maria Taylor, had been chosen to host coverage of the 2020 NBA Finals. Nichols, who is white, had been expected to host the coverage and was instead asked to be a fringe reporter.

She says, “Guess what will pave the way for Maria?” I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world – she covers football and she covers basketball. If you need to give her more things to do because you’re feeling stressed about your long poor record in diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, look it up. Just look for it elsewhere. You won’t find it from me or take something away.”

On Monday, Nichols, who hosts ESPN’s “The Jump,” kicked off the NBA daily show by saying how “deeply sorry” she was for Taylor’s “disappointment.”

“So the first thing they teach you in journalism school is not to be a story. And I’m not planning to break that rule today or distract attention from great finals, but I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I appreciate our colleagues here.” on ESPN”. “How deeply sorry I have disappointed those I have hurt, especially Maria Taylor, and how grateful I am to be part of such an outstanding team.”

Taylor has not publicly commented on The Times article or Nichols’ apology. ESPN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

According to the New York Times, Nichols was on the phone with Adam Mendelsohn, an adviser to LeBron James, and James’ agent, Rich Paul, when she made the comments. Mendelsohn addressed the leaked audio after he was criticized for saying on the call that he was “exhausted” by the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements.

“I made a stupid and careless comment rooted in the franchise and I am sincerely sorry. I should never have said it or even thought about it,” Mendelsohn said in an email to CNBC. “I work to support these movements and know that people affected by these issues never feel overwhelmed. Or they have nothing left. I have to keep checking my privileges and work to be a better ally.”

The Times reported that the audio – which was recorded on a mobile phone from ESPN’s control room and then shared with others – set off a firestorm that biased some of the network’s characters.

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewicz told the newspaper that the incident had been handled “appropriately” by a “variety of executives.”

“We are proud of the coverage we continue to produce, and our focus will remain on Maria, Rachel, and the rest of the talented team serving NBA fans,” Krulewitz said.

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