It took some time, but it's official: Rachel Nichols is leaving ESPN.
The sports giant and the sports broadcaster have reached a settlement to end their working relationship that owes its inception to the infamous "hot mic" incident during the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Nichols can be heard talking about Maria Taylor as if she were nothing more than a diversity hire in the recorded audio. The veiled jabs begin as well-wishes but quickly detour as Nichols' language transforms into spiteful rhetoric.
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"I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball," said Nichols as her tone began to shift. "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 take my thing away."
With Nichols' and ESPN's working relationship coming to an end, it will be interesting to see where the ex-"The Jump" host pops up next. As a writer, producer, and broadcaster listed on her resume, it's safe to say that Nichols will eventually find her next home. Where do you think the broadcaster will end up next?
Sound off in the comment section below.
[Via]