What Did Rachel Nichols Say? NBA Reporter’s Show ‘The Jump’ Axed at ESPN
The final buzzer has rung for longtime ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols’ popular show The Jump.
The sports network confirmed on Wednesday, Aug. 25, that the broadcaster would be pulled from its NBA coverage and that her show The Jump has been canceled.
“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,” David Roberts, ESPN’s senior vice president of production, said in a statement, per CBS News.
The news of the cancellation comes a month after the NBA reporter received backlash following the remarks she made about her former coworker Maria Taylor. So, what did Rachel say? Keep reading to find out more.
What did Rachel Nichols say? Before her show was recently canceled, the ESPN reporter had received backlash after a private phone conversation was leaked.
In July 2021, The New York Times released comments that were made by Rachel back in July 2020 about then-colleague Maria Taylor. It was reportedly in Rachel’s contract that she hosts NBA Countdown during the Finals, but the assignment was given to Maria, a Black female reporter.
“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,” Rachel said in the secretly recorded call. “You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
She added, “I just want them to go somewhere else — it’s in my contract, by the way; this job is in my contract in writing.”
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After The New York Times released Rachel’s controversial comments, ESPN pulled her from covering the NBA Finals as a sideline reporter. On her show The Jump on July 5, 2021, Rachel apologized to Maria for her comments, saying, “I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor.”
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Just a month later, Rachel’s NBA show The Jump has been canceled by ESPN.
“Got to create a whole show and spend five years hanging out with some of my favorite people talking about one my favorite things,” she wrote on Instagram on Aug. 25, 2021. She added: “The Jump was never built to last forever but it sure was fun.”
At this time, it has not been reported where Rachel could end up next.
