Rachel Nichols found herself in the midst of a huge controversy at ESPN last year. The long-time NBA journalist ended up losing her job after recordings of her leaked online. In these recordings, Nichols could be heard criticizing Maria Taylor, with Nichols referring to her as a diversity hire of sorts.
Following this leak, Nichols was removed from her post on NBA Countdown, and The Jump was ultimately canceled in favor of NBA Today which is now hosted by Malika Andrews. Needless to say, it was a horrible time for Nichols’ career as she was left without a role in the dog-eat-dog world of NBA media.
Now, however, it is being reported that Nichols will be back on TV in the not-so-distant future. She is going to be added to the team over at Showtime Sports, where she will get to create monthly basketball programming. It remains to be seen what her exact role will be over there, although it is certainly going to be huge given the fact that she has a wealth of experience from working with ESPN.
This is a hiring that could be polarizing as some are still mad at Nichols for her comments about Andrews. Either way, Showtime Sports is expanding, and they believe this hire gives them the best chance to compete in the NBA landscape.