Leaked comments made last year by ESPN host Rachel Nichols about the network’s decision to have Black colleague Maria Taylor host the NBA Finals are still making waves, as The New York Times reports that several of the company’s top NBA analysts had considered boycotting this year’s playoffs over how ESPN handled the situation.
In July 2020, a tape leaked of a conversation between Nichols, LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul and James’ advisor Adam Mendelsohn. In the conversation — which was accidentally recorded and uploaded to ESPN’s servers because Nichols forgot to turn her video camera off — Nichols expressed frustration that Taylor had been chosen over her to host “NBA Countdown” during last year’s NBA Finals, suggesting that the network made the decision because it was “feeling pressure” on diversity.