Rachel Nichols and ESPN have agreed to part ways after they kicked her out of the NBA coverage with her “The Jump” show canceled over comments about her co-worker, Maria Taylor. As to how much money Rachel is walking away with, no details were given on that, but I’m sure she’s getting something appreciative.
Here is the story via the NY Post.
Rachel Nichols and ESPN are officially done, and she is free to pursue a professional comeback, The Post has learned.
The settlement agreement came after Nichols had been exiled by ESPN following the fallout over her private comments about diversity at the network were made public in July 2021.
Nichols had one year remaining on her deal, but ESPN had no intention of using her after the network removed her from its NBA coverage prior to this season.
Now, Nichols is free to pursue other opportunities immediately, according to sources. She was making in the neighborhood of $1.5 million to $2 million per year, according to sources.
Here is what David Roberts, ESPN’s senior vice president of production, said when Rachel Nichols was kicked out of the NBA coverage at the time.
“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.”
In the July 2020 recording, Nichols is heard suggesting that Taylor got her job hosting the marquee program NBA Countdown during the NBA finals because she is Black.
“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 said in the recording. “Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
The question begs, where will she show up next. The obvious choice with be Turner a place where she has worked before. The NBA Network is also an option because Adam Silver seemed to have sympathy for her. She could potentially pivot to another sports and show up on FOX or CBS, probably not NBC because they hired Taylor.
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