ESPN Replaces Rachel Nichols With Malika Andrews for NBA Finals | THR News - video Dailymotion

“We believe this is the best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals," ESPN said in a statement.

Transcript

00:00Malika Andrews will replace Rachel Nichols as ESPN's sideline reporter for the NBA Finals.

00:06Nichols has long been the network's primary sideline reporter.

00:09ESPN's decision comes after Nichols made headlines over the weekend for comments she made in a call last summer with Adam Mendelsohn,

00:15an advisor to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

00:18In the call, which was released in a New York Times story, Nichols criticized ESPN

00:23and suggested that the channel had given fellow on-air NBA reporter Maria Taylor high-profile pre-game hosting duties

00:29because of the network's, quote, crappy longtime record on diversity.

00:33The comments were seen internally as an insult to Taylor, a rising star at ESPN.

00:38Nichols apologized for the comments on Monday's The Jump on ESPN 2.

00:42How deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor,

00:48and how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team.

00:52As for Taylor, she is scheduled to host ESPN's pre-game and halftime coverage during the NBA Finals.

00:58ESPN released a statement about replacing Nichols with Andrews.

01:01The network said,

01:02We believe this is the best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals.

01:07Rachel will continue to host The Jump, her daily NBA show, on ESPN 2.

01:11As for Andrews, she joined ESPN in 2018 and worked as a sideline reporter in the NBA bubble last year.

01:17For more on this story, go to THR.com.

01:20For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.