ESPN Drops Rachel Nichols From NBA Coverage & Cancels "The Jump"
In a shocking turn of events, ESPN‘s daily talk show The Jump has been canceled, and it turns out that the show’s abrupt cancellation also coincides with ESPN‘s removal of veteran reporter Rachel Nichols from all NBA coverage. The sports network’s decision comes nearly two months after Nichols’ controversial rant about ESPN‘s “crappy longtime record on diversity” went viral. In response to being replaced on NBA Countdown by Maria Taylor, Nichols argued that her Black colleague was solely put in that position because of her race.
“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols was heard saying in the audio leaked at the top of July. “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. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
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Upon the audio leaking,…