Maria Taylor Posts Cryptic Message Amid Rachel Nichols Drama

ESPN host Rachel Nichols is under heavy fire after audio leaked of her saying the network only gave colleague Maria Taylor assignments for the NBA Finals because of her race.

While Taylor has been quiet on the whole thing up to this point, it appears as though she has sent a message about the whole situation.

“During the dark times I always remember that I am in this position to open doors and light the path that others walk down. I’ve taken some punches but that just means I’m still in the fight. Remember to lift as you climb and always KEEP RISING,” Maria Taylor wrote on her Twitter.

During the dark times I always remember that I am in this position to open doors and light the path that others walk down. I’ve taken some punches but that just means I’m still in the fight. Remember to lift as you climb and always KEEP RISING ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ztSIx9CLpO

— Maria Taylor (@MariaTaylor) July 7, 2021

Here’s what Rachel Nichols said about ESPN’s decision to use Maria Taylor for the 2020 NBA Finals.

“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said in the phone call, which was leaked by The New York Times. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

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While Rachel Nichols didn’t really send much of an apology, she did say a brief message to Maria Taylor on the opening segment of her show, “The Jump”, on Monday.

“The first thing they teach you in journalism school is ‘Don’t be the story,’ and I don’t plan to break that rule today or distract from the (NBA) Finals,” Nichols said. “But I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN, [and] how deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor, and for how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team.”

ESPN pulled Rachel Nichols from her NBA Finals assignment in wake of these comments going public.

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