Rachel Nichols Woke Ruckus Continues at ESPN

CLAY: Buck, we were just talking about this off the air. Remember yesterday we talked about Rachel Nichols, who was really upset that she got replaced by a black woman in her hosting duties at the NBA Finals, and when you actually…? Maria Taylor, by the way, replaced her. She has now been pulled off of the NBA Finals sidelines and replaced by another black woman, Malika Andrews.

This is pretty crazy. It’s funny to me in many ways because Rachel Nichols is one of those woke white people we were talking about. They’re all in favor, Buck, of diversity and inclusion, as long as diversity and inclusion doesn’t actually threaten their own jobs — and then, boy, oh, boy, are they not happy about it at all.

BUCK: And clearly, she had insufficient wokeness insurance. You know, the policy didn’t cover saying that she thought an African-American female colleague was not as qualified as her for that job. Her wokeness policy did not get her out of that problem.

CLAY: She lost two jobs, so I actually had to give ESPN credit. It’s kind of funny in an ironic way. She said (summarized), “Hey, this woman, Maria Taylor, doesn’t deserve to have my job. She’s getting this gig because of diversity,” and then the New York Times has a huge story on July 4th, front page of their Sports section about Rachel Nichols’ comments there, and then they replace her with another black woman. Now she loses another job.

BUCK: How did this get leaked? Did we ever get clarity on that also?

CLAY: Good question. Yes.

BUCK: Because there is a whole… This was… I mean, depending on how it was done, it might have even been an illegal recording. I just think it’s interesting that no one seemed to say… If someone gets recorded in their home talking to their spouse, does your employer, like, take action on you for that if it’s illegal?

CLAY: Yeah, it’s honestly kind of fascinating, Buck, because she left her camera on inside of her hotel room last year in the NBA Bubble. So, like, you and I sometimes have home studios; I always think about this. Like, I’m glad I have an office ’cause if my wife is yelling at me (laughing) about something not picking up the laundry off the floor or something, the last thing I want is it going all the way to Fox offices in New York and Fox offices in LA and then iHeart hearing it.

BUCK: Yeah, but someone then —

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: — clearly —

CLAY: Clipped it.

BUCK: — saw it —

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: — someone inside a woke ESPN.

CLAY: That’s right.

BUCK: That’s why — you and I both know this — in the media business, you better be nice. Just because it’s the right thing to do to be a good person, but you better be nice to everybody —

CLAY: Everybody, yes.

BUCK: — and show everybody respect because I know careers that have ended because somebody upset the summer intern or upset the hair and makeup folks or whatever, and then all of a sudden something gets leaked, and you got a big problem here.