Former ESPN star Rachel Nichols spilled the cold hard truth on Friday regarding the scandal that led to her firing last summer after making some insensitive comments about Maria Taylor, who was chosen as a courtside reporter over her in the 2020 NBA Finals.
Nichols appeared on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, revealing that ESPN essentially had an open line to her hotel room through a new app the company was using. They never told Nichols about it and eventually, someone heard the remarks in a conversation about Taylor and then leaked them. Jackson, while listening to Nichols explain the story, couldn't help but call out ESPN for this sickening move. Via Ballislife:
“Imagine working somewhere for 25 years, and they wanna use you as a scapegoat to fix something that they be f*ckin up for years, it don't work like that, that's not fair to nobody and no race and that's how I took it, it just isn't right. That's why I didn't mind jumping up and standing up for you because I love you (Rachel Nichols) and I know you. People just gotta put yourselves in somebody else's shoes sometimes before you judge.”
"One person decided to just sit & watch, spying on me like I was their own personal TV show & when they heard something they thought was juicy they picked up their phone & started recording my conversation."
Rachel Nichols on #AllTheSmoke @shobasketballpic.twitter.com/QVvnfFsAjq
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 1, 2022
Rachel Nichols made a mistake, there is no doubt about it. But, ESPN should've never been spying on her and listening to private conversations. That's just absolutely wrong. Jackson has a very good point here.
Nevertheless, the past is the past and Nichols is back in the business, recently getting hired by Showtime Basketball as a host and producer. Taylor is also long gone, leaving ESPN for NBC Sports not long after the scandal.
Follow Us
Subscribe