ESPN and reporter Maria Taylor announced Wednesday the two were parting ways, with Taylor leaving the network after turmoil erupted over fellow reporter Rachel Nichols claiming Taylor—who is Black—was promoted as a diversity measure.
The network and Taylor said in a joint statement the two could not agree on a contract extension, after her old contract expired on Tuesday, which coincided with the sixth and final game of this year’s NBA Finals.
Taylor hosted this year’s NBA Finals coverage on ESPN—considered a prestigious job in NBA media, and one Nichols hoped to have, saying in a leaked recording she thought Taylor might have been picked for optics.
Taylor is reportedly set to join NBC, where she will serve as a broadcaster for its coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The games’ opening ceremony is set for Friday. “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,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said.
A leaked audio recording released by The New York Times earlier this month revealed Nichols—who is white—complaining that she thought Taylor was picked over her for diversity reasons.
The leaked recording reportedly led to significant tensions within ESPN, especially among its NBA broadcasters, and ESPN went on to pull Nichols from NBA Finals sideline coverage in a last-minute move before the series started earlier this month.
Taylor has largely avoided public comments over the controversy, and Nichols told the Times that Taylor hadn’t responded to her apology, a decision Nichols said was “completely fair.”
