Rachel Nichols has been all over the news over the past couple of months but not for the best reasons.
First, some people started the rumor that she had hooked up with Jimmy Butler and/or Ersan Ilyasova inside the bubble in Orlando. Then, audio of her calling out ESPN got leaked and it all went south.
Nichols pretty much said that ESPN gave Maria Taylor her spots because they were trying to fill a quota. She implied that Taylor got to cover the NBA Finals instead of her because she was black, even though she had been promised that gig.
Now, some months later, ESPN has made the decision to cancel The Jump and remove Nichols from all of the NBA programs. Clearly, that audio didn’t sit well with the company.
So, after the news broke, Nichols took to Twitter to bid farewell and share a heartfelt message:
“Got to create a whole show and spend five years hanging out with some of my favorite people ❤️ talking about one of 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…” Nichols tweeted.
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… pic.twitter.com/FPMFRlfJin
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 25, 2021
These decisions are often controversial. Some believe that Nichols was right, others will say that she was out of place. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle but that’s not for us to say.
Nichols had some memorable interviews during her days with ESPN. She was beloved and respected around the NBA community because she never doubted to make tough questions.
ESPN also scratched Max Kellerman from First Take so it’s clear that they’re going through a bit of a transition. Hopefully, that’ll be for the best and NBA fans will get the content they deserve.
