Just as the NBA Finals were getting set to begin, a bombshell story emerged about internal dysfunction at ESPN that dated back to the Orlando Bubble when Rachel Nichols made comments on a live mic to a PR exec about Maria Taylor, claiming she only got her role hosting Finals coverage because she was Black and ESPN had issues with diversity.
The fallout from that was swift, as Nichols was removed from sideline duty for the Finals, with Malika Andrews taking her place, while Taylor eventually left ESPN for NBC as soon as the Bucks won the NBA title. Nichols offered an apology on her first episode of The Jump following the story becoming public and hosted the show through the Finals, but has not been on the airwaves recently, with Andrews hosting the show’s schedule release special, raising some questions about Nichols’ future with the network.
On Wednesday, ESPN confirmed that Nichols would not be returning to their NBA coverage this coming season, with The Jump being cancelled and a new NBA afternoon show taking its place — although there are no specifics on that show in terms of format or host at this time. ESPN’s David Roberts confirmed the news to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal in a statement.
“We mutually agreed that this approach regarding our NBA coverage was best for all concerned,” ESPN Senior VP/Production David Roberts said in a statement emailed to SBJ. “Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content.” Roberts took over as the production exec overseeing ESPN’s NBA coverage two weeks ago, and this marks his first big move to reset how the network covers the NBA. Many more changes are coming, particularly on the studio side, sources said.
It is a major shift for ESPN’s NBA coverage, as Nichols has been one of the faces of the network’s NBA coverage for years and will now be off TV completely, likely through the remainder of her contract which has one year remaining, per SBJ. What comes next will be fascinating to see, as there will be an entirely new NBA studio show created in the next couple months, which one would anticipate launching just prior to the new NBA season tipping off in October, and as Ourand notes, a number of other changes to come as they still need to replace Taylor on the NBA Countdown desk and more.
Per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, the new NBA show is going to be modeled after NFL Live.
ESPN will create a new daily NBA afternoon show. Look for it to be more like NFL Live, according to sources.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 25, 2021
As for Nichols, her future seems very much in doubt as it seems likely she’s done at ESPN after her contract runs up and where she goes from there remains to be seen.
