ESPN announced that longtime reporter Rachel Nichols will be removed from all NBA programming and her afternoon show The Jump has been canceled.
Nichols acknowledged the cancelation on her Instagram, writing, “The Jump was never built to last forever but it sure was fun.” She finished the post by saying there is more to come.
The news was confirmed to Sports Business Journal by the network’s Senior Vice President of production, David Roberts. Roberts told the outlet that the network and Nichols were both in agreement regarding NBA coverage.
The move comes on the heels of a damning New York Times report and leaked audio of a controversial conversation from last July where Nichols made racially charged comments about Maria Taylor. Nichols’ comments about Taylor, who is Black, were made to LeBron James‘ advisor Adam Mendelsohn during what she thought was a private conversation. She expressed that she felt Taylor was being promoted because the network was trying to be more diverse over her talent.
Following the scandal, Taylor left ESPN for NBC. Nichols apologized for the comments, nit she was eventually removed from the sidelines for the NBA Finals.
The Jump will air for the next couple of weeks without Nichols. The network plans to air a new show ahead of the NBA season, but no details have been announced.
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