Looks like the saga continues. Follow-Up Tweets added from Marchand for additional details on the move:
> ESPN has taken Rachel Nichols off the NBA Finals sideline, the network announced. (1/4)
> Malika Andrews will replace her on the sideline. (2/4)
> Nichols will continue to host The Jump. (3/4)
> ESPN said, “We believe this is best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals. Rachel will continue to host The Jump.” (4/4)
> https://twitter.com/andrewmarchand/status/1412446047771762696?s=21
Will be interesting if they end up re-signing Maria Taylor. since her contract ends before Game 7 of the Finals, if it is played. This move seems like they are trying their best as the deadline approaches.
> 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…
Source: https://twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols/status/1430620960156266498?s=19
Rachel posts a farwell message on Twitter. She expresses her gratitude for being able to participate and host the show. Her last sentence is interesting. She still has one year left on her contract. Where might she go?
>I wouldnt have been on The Jump if it werent for @Rachel__Nichols & I know the same is true for T-Mac & Stak. When they tried to get funnystyle w/ my contract, she stood up for me & made sure I was treated right. She’s been an ally (not just to me) in public & behind closed doors
>Pls note this isnt a dismissal of Maria or her feelings. She’s great & deserving of everything she accomplished in her career..but the convo that needs to occur is why is there a Highlander “There Can Only Be One” mentality when it comes to women & high profile positions at ESPN
>Rachel Nichols is facing criticism over comments she reportedly made about diversity at ESPN.
>In a leaked recording obtained by the New York Times, Nichols can be heard saying coworker Maria Taylor got a gig at the NBA Finals because ESPN was “feeling pressure” about its “crappy longtime record on diversity.”
>“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” the host of The Jump said last July in the audio. “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.”
>The audio was reportedly recorded on an ESPN camera she left on, which kept her conversation with advisor Adam Mendelsohn and uploaded it to ESPN’s servers. After making rounds internally, the clip was shared with the Times.
No cringe questions. Flows with the excitement of the fans. Asks smart meaningful questions. Doesn’t make it about herself. Just all around better coverage than Rachel Nichols
So, I say this as a black person. This was a private discussion where Nichols expresses her frustration with being removed from an opportunity. She wishes Taylor, a black woman, success, but expresses frustration that it comes at her expense. Mendelsohn makes the point that it is interesting that ESPN, a giant soulless corporation gave Taylor, a black woman an opportunity at the expense of another woman and not at the expense of any of the many white men who have gotten opportunities. He likens it to idea that there is one spot reserved for non white men in the board room for purposes of tokenism and to make it look like these corporations care about diversity while not changing the power structure that puts almost all white men in charge, all things Nichols agrees with.
I've seen many people frame this discussion as Nichols saying that Taylor is unqualified and only got her job because of diversity. Is there something I'm missing? Wouldn't by that standard Mendelsohn have been saying the same thing about Nichols? Why is this being framed as an attack on Taylor and not a discussion about ESPN's practices as a corporation that affects Nichols, Taylor and all non white men at the network?
>Adam Silver asked about the reports on ESPN's Rachel Nichols & Maria Taylor: "It's unfortunate two women are pitted against each other."
>Adam Silver on Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor: "They're both fantastic at what they do. This is a really unfortunate situation."
>Adam Silver's longest answer at his pre-Finals news conference might have been about the situation at ESPN.
Tatum just had a great game and literally the first 2 questions in the post game interview were about Steph. Like who the fuck does that? I mean damn could you congratulate the man on a great game first? Could you show him some love and gas him up a bit? That’s honestly disrespectful and she does that kind of that shit on a regular basis. Makes me miss the days Doris was the sideline reporter during ESPN games.
