Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols' show fails to air after she's pulled from NBA Finals due to Maria Taylor race comment

ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols' show fails to air after she's pulled from NBA Finals due to Maria Taylor race comment

The move came amid furor over Nichols’ suggestion in a call last year that her Black colleague Maria Taylor got a hosting gig for the 2020 finals because of her race.
ESPN without warning failed to broadcast the scheduled afternoon NBA show of reporter Rachel Nichols on Tuesday — hours after blocking her from sideline coverage of the NBA Finals due to her suggestion to LeBron James’s key advisor that Black colleague Maria Taylor got a hosting gig last year because of her race.

The drama at the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports came in the hours before the finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns was due to tip off in Phoenix.

Nichols, who is white, was the primary sideline reporter for ESPN during the NBA playoffs. The expectation had been that she would continue in that role during the finals.

But on Sunday, The New York Times published a bombshell report that detailed the circumstances of Nichols’ accidentally recorded call with James advisor Adam Mendelsohn in July 2020, and the backlash they caused within the Walt Disney-owned sports cable TV giant.

In that call, Nichols suggested to Mendelsohn, who also is white, that Taylor got a plum spot hosting 2020 Finals shows because of her race, the Times reported. Nichols expected to get that spot.

“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,” Nichols said on the call, audio of which was published by The Times.

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

According to the Times report, Mendelsohn shortly afterward in that call said: “I don’t know. I’m exhausted. Between Me Too and Black Lives Matter, I got nothing left.”

Nichols laughed at his remark.

The conversation was captured, and fed to ESPN’s control room in Connecticut, by a live camera in Nichols’ hotel room in Florida. A tape of that call quickly circulated at ESPN, which reportedly never disciplined Nichols for what she said about Taylor during the call.

On Tuesday, ESPN announced that Nichols would not appear on either the sideline during the finals or on “NBA Countdown,” the pre-game and halftime show for the championship series.

Taylor will host that show with other ESPN reporters, the network said.

ESPN also announced that Malika Andrews — who is Black — will handle sideline reporting during the finals. But the network said Nichols will appear on her show, “The Jump,” on-site from the finals games “for weekday shows.”

Hours later, “The Jump” failed to appear as scheduled at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Instead, two other ESPN hosts, Jalen Rose and David Jacoby, appeared on their show, “Jalen and Jacoby.”

“The Jump” is expected to be back on the air as scheduled Wednesday.

ESPN declined to comment.

On Monday, Nichols apologized for the controversy as she opened the broadcast of “The Jump.”

“I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN,” Nichols said.

“How deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor, and how grateful I am to be a part of this team,” she said.

On Sunday, the Times reported that Taylor’s colleagues in May discussed whether they would refuse to appear on “NBA Countdown” in protest over changes to the production, which they believed were made to benefit Nichols.

Mendelsohn apologized for his comment about the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements on Sunday in an email to CNBC after being asked about it.

“I made a stupid, careless comment rooted in privilege and I am sincerely sorry,” said Mendelsohn, who last year co-founded James’ Black voter advocacy group More Than A Vote.

“I shouldn’t have said it or even thought it,” Mendelsohn said in an email.

“I work to support these movements and know that the people affected by these issues never get to be exhausted or have nothing left. I have to continue to check my privilege and work to be a better ally,” he added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×