Tag: Rachel Nichols

ESPN decides to take Rachel Nichols off the air and cancel ‘The Jump’ after leaked remarks

Her time at ESPN is essentially over.

ESPN’s NBA coverage was marred by controversy this past postseason when The New York Times published a piece detailing longtime reporter Rachel Nichols’ recorded remarks about then-colleague Maria Taylor.

The fallout from that story led to Malika Andrews replacing Nichols as the reporter at the NBA Finals. Taylor would sign a contract with NBC Sports. And now, Nichols’ time at ESPN is essentially done.

According to a report from Sports Business Journal, ESPN is pulling Nichols off the air and canceling her daytime NBA show, The Jump. While Nichols still has at least a year remaining on her contract, the network will let that contract expire without featuring Nichols on any future programming.

ESPN Senior VP/Production David Roberts told SBJ of those plans:

“We mutually agreed that this approach regarding our NBA coverage was best for all concerned. Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content.”

In Nichols’ comments, which were recorded during the 2020 Orlando bubble, she said of Taylor:

“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. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

Outrage over those comments had brewed internally at ESPN and ultimately led to this final decision on Wednesday.

ESPN launched The Jump in 2016, which featured panel discussions comprised of current and former NBA players (and also saw Paul Pierce’s high-profile firing from the show). Nichols was in her second stint with ESPN, rejoining the network in 2016 from Turner after previously working with ESPN from 2004 to 2013.

Notre Dame football could be in cards if Maria Taylor heads to NBC

Could NBC’s Irish coverage look a little different in 2021?

Maria Taylor recently found herself in the middle of a controversy involving ESPN colleague Rachel Nichols. Consequently, she took over for Nichols as host of “NBA Countdown” for this year’s NBA Finals coverage. However, Taylor’s days with the four-letter network appear to be numbered. A report from Front Office Sports indicates that Taylor is extremely close to a deal with NBC.

The reported deal, which the source says is “at the half-yard line”, would offer Taylor a variety of opportunities. One possibility is said to be NBC’s Notre Dame football coverage. It doesn’t specify what role she would have as that obviously can’t be determined as of yet, but it does open up the discussion of who on the current broadcast team she could replace.

Kathryn Tappen has been the sideline reporter since she joined NBC in 2014. Jac Collinsworth only has one season as the pregame/halftime host under his belt. It will be worth keeping an eye on what NBC does as the 2021 season gets closer to kickoff.

A timeline of the fallout over Rachel Nichols’ leaked comments about Maria Taylor

A look at the events from the past week.

ESPN has been at the center of controversy over the past three days regarding Rachel Nichols’ leaked comments about colleague Maria Taylor that were made public by a New York Times article that published on Sunday.

The drama led up to Tuesday’s news when ESPN announced that Malika Andrews will take over for Nichols as sideline reporter for 2021 NBA finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, and that Nichols would continue as host of The Jump.

In case you missed everything that happened over the holiday weekend before this decision was made, here’s a recap with a timeline of the events:

Thanks to special software, iPad …

“I am in such debt to the people who …

“I am in such debt to the people who worked so incredibly hard on the technical side to make what I believe is still magic — there might be some elves involved, it is Disney after all,” ‘The Jump” host Rachel Nichols told Insider. “I can’t believe that they were able to figure out a way to produce an entire television show with everybody at home, not a single person in our television facility.”

Is OKC this year better than OKC last year? The Jump thinks so.

Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Scottie Pippen debated whether or not this year’s Thunder team is better than the 2018-19 Thunder.

Oklahoma City’s surprising success has been talked about again and again this season.

And it’s easy to understand why. The Thunder are one of the feel-good stories in the league.

In their first year without Russell Westbrook, who essentially made the franchise over the last decade, Oklahoma City has exceeded all expectations. They have essentially guaranteed themselves a spot in the postseason after they were written off ahead of training camp, and their playing like the Thunder team that fans and opposing teams have been accustomed to seeing.

Throw in the combination of rejuvenated veteran Chris Paul, a rising star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the narrative of a team full of scrappy players who are sacrificing for the greater good … Hollywood doesn’t’ have many better storylines.

But is this season an unlikely one-off or are the Thunder actually better than they were a year ago with both Westbrook and Paul George on the roster?

ESPN’s The Jump debated the issue.

Royce Young, who covers the Thunder for ESPN, tweeted out ahead of OKC’s matchup against the Bucks that Milwaukee and Oklahoma City had the two best records in the league since Thanksgiving.

The Jump broke it down even further, noting that “even if you break it out by winning percentage, still only the Bucks and Lakers have been better than the Thunder”.

Rachel Nichols posed the question to Amin Elhassan and Scottie Pippen.

Elhassan pointed out that at this point in the season last year, Oklahoma City had a record of 38-23. Currently, the Thunder are 37-23 (adding a game to the loss column due to the historically lopsided loss to the Bucks on Friday night). Elhassan said that while Oklahoma City isn’t better on paper, the offense is better than it was last year.

“You look at the offense, it’s way better than it was last year. Last year’s offense was 16th in the league, this year’s offense is 10th. When you look at the way that they use everyone on the roster, that it’s not very star-centric, when you look at the development of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the year that Chris Paul has had, I’m willing to say that if last year’s Thunder played this year’s Thunder, this year’s Thunder would win in a seven-game series”.

Scottie Pippen agreed and added that he believes that this year’s OKC team is better both on paper and on the court.

“They have players that are playing their role, and I think they’ve got better leadership. Chris Paul gets his guys to play the way he wants them to play. And they follow the way that he plays. And that’s why they’re being successful on the basketball court.”

Elhassan also noted that Paul’s influence was visible in the way Oklahoma City executes, especially during close games, something that shouldn’t be surprising to Thunder fans considering Paul has been the most clutch player in the league this season.

The conversation about the Thunder starts at the 2:37 mark.