Maria Taylor one of the NBA analysts on ESPN, is making her exit from the sports network, after remarks from one of her colleagues, Rachel Nichols.
Her decision to leave ESPN, is coming after Rachel Nichols’s allegation saying that she was promoted because she is Black became public.
According to the report by CNN, the contract with Maria Taylor who made her decision known on Wednesday and ESPN, was coming to an end. But her exit is notable because it comes just weeks after comments from Rachel Nichols sparked a controversy that embroiled Taylor and ESPN.
Taylor and ESPN announced the departure in a statement Wednesday, saying “that after much discussion, an agreement on a contract extension could not be reached.”
According to ESPN, Taylor’s final appearance for the network was Tuesday night’s NBA Finals telecast.
In early July, The New York Times reported on a recording of a conversation by ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols. In the July 2020 recording, Nichols, who is white, 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.”
She was speaking with NBA star LeBron James’ longtime adviser Adam Mendelsohn and James’ agent Rich Paul.
Nichols was removed from her assignment after the comments became public.
She later apologized on the show The Jump, saying she respected her ESPN colleagues and noting that she was “deeply, deeply sorry” for “disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor.”
In a statement shared by ESPN, Taylor thanked her colleagues and friends “who believed in me, encouraged me, pushed me, and lifted me up.”
“Words are inadequate to express my boundless appreciation, and I hope to make them proud,” Maria Taylor added.
Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Sports Content, praised Taylor’s skills and her work at the network.
“There is no doubt we will miss Maria, but we remain determined to continue to build a deep and skilled talent roster that thoroughly reflects the athletes we cover and the fans we serve,” he said in a statement.