Maria Taylor earned her stripes and the industry’s respect after she became the target of a private conversation leaked to the press featuring critical comments from her ESPN college,
Rachel Nichols. On Wednesday (July 21), Taylor and the popular sports network agreed to part ways after failing to come to an agreement on a new contract and Twitter has some passionate reactions.
Taylor’s departure comes just as she wrapped coverage of the NBA Finals in Milwaukee, Wisc., with the home team vanquishing the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the series. In a statement from ESPN’s PR arm, the move had been speculated ever since the comments from Nichols went wide and put a strain on Taylor’s time at the network as expected.
From ESPN PR:
Comment from Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content
“Maria’s remarkable success speaks directly to her abilities and work ethic. 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. While she chose to pursue a new opportunity, we are proud of the work we’ve done together.”
Comment from Maria Taylor:
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“So thankful to Jimmy and all of my great teammates and friends at the SEC Network, College GameDay, Women’s and Men’s college basketball, and the NBA Countdown family — the people who believed in me, encouraged me, pushed me, and lifted me up. Words are inadequate to express my boundless appreciation, and I hope to make them proud.”
As we previously shared, Taylor has reportedly been in talks with NBC Sports as seen over at
Front Office Sports. As of now, the network has yet to make any announcements.
After the announcement, Taylor’s name began trending on social media and we’ve got the reactions listed down below.
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