ESPN pulls Rachel Nichols from NBA programming, cancels her show The Jump

The New York Times

Nichols lost her show and is expected to leave the network after the revelation last month that she was caught last year saying disparaging comments about ESPN colleague Maria Taylor, who has since left the network for NBC Sports, according to Sports Business Journal. "It is unclear whether Nichols will be on ESPN’s airwaves again," reports The New York Times' Kevin Draper, who first broke the story about Nichols' comments. "She signed a contract extension last year, but ESPN declined to say whether she will appear on other shows. A representative for Nichols did not respond to a request for comment." The New York Post's Andrew Marchand, meanwhile, tweets that Nichols "will no longer appear on ESPN...ESPN will create a new daily NBA afternoon show. Look for it to be more like NFL Live, according to sources. Nichols has a year remaining on her contract and will still be paid, but won't be on-air." Nichols last hosted The Jump on Aug. 16, with ESPN NBA reporter Malika Andrews filling in since then. Nichols tweeted of her show ending: "Got to  create a whole show and spend five years hanging out with some of my favorite people (heart emoji) talking about one my favorite things (basketball). An eternal thank you  to our amazing producers & crew - The Jump was never built to last forever but it sure was fun."