Rachel Nichols out of NBA coverage as ‘The Jump’ canceled by ESPN
ESPN is moving Rachel Nichols off the network’s NBA programming.
The news was first reported by John Ourand of Sports Business Journal. Nichols’s weekday program The Jump will also be canceled.
Want $250?
Got to create a whole show and spend five years hanging out with some of my favorite people ❤️ talking about one my favorite things 🏀 An eternal thank you to our amazing producers & crew – The Jump was never built to last forever but it sure was fun. 😎
More to come… pic.twitter.com/FPMFRlfJin— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 25, 2021
Rachel Nichols was removed from her role as ESPN’s sideline reporter for the 2021 NBA Finals in July, shortly after The New York Times reported on a 2020 conversation between Nichols and media and athlete adviser Adam Mendelsohn.
Read: Lamar Jackson Still Has A Few New Tricks Up His Sleeve
Nichols said increased NBA assignments for fellow ESPN reporter Maria Taylor in her conversation with Mendelsohn, claiming that Taylor was given that work in part due to the network’s “crappy longtime record on diversity.”
Taylor, who is Black, served as ESPN’s host for coverage of the ’20 NBA Finals. This is an assignment Nichols was reportedly expected to receive.
