[NYT] A Disparaging Video Prompts Explosive Fallout Within ESPN

Because we have gone completely insane. And I fear it is only just the beginning. I feel like as we make any sort of progress in certain areas....we devolve rapidly in others.

 

I was forced to watch ESPN NBA Draft, if Rockets didn't have a chance, I would never watch trash. I stopped watching ESPN when they started doing personality shows and changed ESPN Sportscenter to TMZ style. I hope ESPN implodes so they can be watchable.

 

Like Craig Sager and David Aldridge?

 

The executives at ESPN are doing that job for you.

 

This is getting weird.

NBA Twitter is claiming Nichols banged Ersan Ilyasova when she was in the bubble.

 

Whether it is fair or not, I do seem to love when the person who usually does the media crucifixion of others is getting crucified. It's like the universe course correcting or something. Would not want to be in the media right now because they are all targets, and Maria, Rachel, amongst them. Now is the time to get out and retire.

 

Curious why a illegally recorded private conversation is leaked a year plus later when the subject of the conversation is near the end of her contract…

 

Hard to say if Maria released it or not. On one hand it cuts her own knees off to a degree in terms of credibility. She had to know it would jurt more than help her. On the other she let's the truth out and get's vengeance. Coin flip. Not sure. It's possible the Times was waiting for it's moment, but don't believe that, they can't afford to wait.

 

Very first world sports issues...

 

You should be more "curious" about the facts, including that the call was legally recorded.

 

Exactly. Why would promoting someone to improve diversity be seen as an insult, when this is precisely what progressives have been calling for?

Nichols was well within her rights to think she is more deserving of the job and the reason for her demotion was ESPN wanted to appear more diverse. She didn’t intend for thoughts to be shared publicly, so how can she be blamed for expressing it in a private conversation?

Maybe there’s other stuff going on here that’s causing this friction.

 

wat was the original beef about again between these 2?

 

Yep, it's all flowers and unicorns' farts when your holier-than-thou virtue signalling is taking other people's job, but as soon as your job is in jeopardy, then it quickly turns into "take that diversity somewhere else"...

 

True, though it's not a problem of one political persuasion or another. Everybody is like that, unless you're a saint.

The real issue is, why are these women being forced to fight for this one tiny space, when ESPN has a massive underrepresentation of diversity (both gender and ethnicity) in its leadership? Rachel Nichols should be moved into upper leadership and Maria Taylor should get the NBA job. If you look at their resumes, that should have happened for both long ago.

 

Certainly there's other stuff. We don't even have to know the details.

The simplest explanation is that both Taylor and Nichols are thinking "How can I make the best of the situation?" The answer is very unlikely to be "let's be friends." It's more likely, how can I best use this video and media statements as tools to get me what I want? Both are media pros so that's what they do, and honestly it's what they should do.

 

I don’t know what virtue signaling you’re referring to. I know of her only as a sideline reporter and sports show host.

Very few people want to admit that they got to where they are for reasons other than pure merit. That’s true for Nichols and Taylor, and pretty everyone else (which is why there is so much push back against the notion of white privilege).

We should have some empathy for others privately expressing frustration when they feel they are being unfairly disadvantaged. That’s an understandable human response.

The pushback against her would be more understandable to me if it was that people didn’t like that she was reluctant to cede ground to someone else in order to promote diversity on the network. This attitude of “how dare you insinuate this move had something to do with promoting diversity!?” strikes me as totally false and hypocritical. Promoting diversity was at the forefront of everyone’s mind last summer.

 

They are dinosaurs.

 

6 pages and we haven't posted any pics of Maria Taylor yet? She is a dimeee. Can we all agree on that?