ESPN removes Rachel Nichols from NBA coverage, cancels 'The Jump'
ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols stands on the court before an NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on July 31. Credit: AP/Mike Ehrmann
ESPN has removed Rachel Nichols from its NBA programming and is cancelling her NBA-focused show "The Jump," Sports Business Journal reported and ESPN confirmed on Wednesday.
Nichols remains under contract for one more year but is not expected to appear on ESPN during that time, SBJ reported. The network plans to launch a new weekday afternoon NBA show next season.
The decision comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding the leak of a recording of a private conversation Nichols had in which she was heard complaining that fellow host/reporter Maria Taylor had been chosen to host "NBA Countdown" instead of Nichols during the 2020 NBA Finals. Nichols attributed the decision to ESPN feeling pressure to become more diverse. Nichols is white; Taylor is Black.
Taylor since has left ESPN and signed with NBC.
"We mutually agreed that this approach regarding our NBA coverage was best for all concerned," ESPN senior vice president Dave Roberts told SBJ in an emailed statement. "Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content."
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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