ESPN sideline press reporter, Rachel Nichols reports the video game throughout Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals of the 2021 NBA Playoffs on June 24, 2021 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Jim Poorten|National Basketball Association|Getty Images
ESPN will cancel its program hosted by Rachel Nichols and pull the longtime press reporter from NBA protection in the middle of continuous reaction to race-related remarks she made about previous coworker Maria Taylor, the network validated Wednesday.
ESPN will pull Nichols’ weekday program “The Jump,” and prepares to change it with brand-new NBA material. It is uncertain when the program will go off the air.
“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,” ESPN senior vice president for production David Roberts stated in a declaration.
Nichols appeared to verify her program’s cancelationWednesday In a tweet, she stated, “The Jump was never built to last forever but it sure was fun.”
She included: “More to come …”
A New York Times report in July exposed the remarks Nichols made a year previously to Adam Mendelsohn, a consultant to NBA super star LeBron James, that made waves in the Walt Disney- owned business and pro-basketball world.
In remarks caught on video without her understanding, Nichols suggested she believed Taylor got a task hosting ESPN’s pregame and postgame protection of the 2020 NBA Finals since she is Black and the network was attempting to enhance its record on variety.
“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, who is white, stated in audio released by the Times.
“Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away,” she stated.
Following the Times report, ESPN benched Nichols throughout 2021 NBA Finals protection. After a short hiatus, she resumed hosting “The Jump.”
After the audio of her remarks emerged, Nichols asked forgiveness to Taylor on air.
Taylor left ESPN previously this year after she stopped working to reach an agreement extension with the network. She signed up with NBC Sports and was a host and reporter throughout the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Disclosure: CNBC moms and dad NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBCOlympics NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
— CNBC’s Steve Kopack added to this report
