Rachel Nichols canceled

[Roy H.]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

[Ogaju]

it also sucks for the CHA announcer whose Nuggets tweet autocorrected to the n-word, and he got fired. People need to be super-careful about what they put out there (or might get out there).

Sidebar but worth pointing out: most autocorrect software currently in use incorporates learning behaviour, and has for the last decade or so.

Open up whatever texting software you use on your phone (or Twitter) and type Niggets (we can assume this is the misspelling that lead to the 'error'). On my devices, it autocorrects to Nuggets. Which makes sense, because the other word is not a word that I use.

Unless there's some special version of racist autocorrect that's being tested in the South (which, hey, anything is possible), the "oh no my autocorrect just happened to make this egregious mistake, I certainly don't use that word" excuse doesn't hold water.

Are you saying autocorrect is user specific or region specific? Whatever the case the autocorrect should be reproducible, right? Did an independent person verify that his phone autocorrected nigget to the N-word? By the way, my device autocorrected ‘nigget’ to nugget.

[Wretch]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

 

I think that people are projecting their own narratives onto the situation.  ESPN viewed Taylor's credentials as better than Nichols, diversity may have played a role, but no one outside the actual decision making process knows that.  Nichols rejected Taylors professional qualifications and focused on Taylor's color, that was a mistake that potentially damaged Nichols reputation with ESPN management, but again no one outside ESPN management knows anything.  All we are doing is looking at the situation through our own biases.   

On a personal note I was a finalist for a management position that went a lesbian woman (I am a 50 y/o white male).  She was the better choice.  I work for her now and I have told her as much.  Not everyone who doesn't get the job is willing to admit that they're not the best candidate, it's human nature.

[Ogaju]

When you build something on sand, you can't complain when it falls down.

We all obviously enjoy being fans and indulging in the hype, but we should also recognize that there really isn't much here. Sports reporting is a mechanism to pump up hype about sports and monetize the attention. That attention is a mile wide and an inch deep. It is a super flimsy way to earn a living.

So yes, something fairly minor can knock anyone off their spot.

I agree with this post. They are sportscasters. We tend to hype things unnecessarily in this country. It is weird that they get paid that kind of money, and equally weird that unqualified ex-jocks get a majority of the jobs that people who actually trained for these jobs should get.

[Moranis]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

And Taylor was a successful analyst, play by play person, and host at the SEC Network and then ESPN for several years.  They both had only been doing pregame shows for that 1 season though.  And NBA Countdown is actual set up as a pregame show, unlike the Jump which was more story based and not game preparation based.  Nichols had more ESPN and television experience, that doesn't make her better or even more qualified to host the Finals pregame.

[BudweiserCeltic]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

 

I think that people are projecting their own narratives onto the situation.  ESPN viewed Taylor's credentials as better than Nichols, diversity may have played a role, but no one outside the actual decision making process knows that.  Nichols rejected Taylors professional qualifications and focused on Taylor's color, that was a mistake that potentially damaged Nichols reputation with ESPN management, but again no one outside ESPN management knows anything.  All we are doing is looking at the situation through our own biases.   

On a personal note I was a finalist for a management position that went a lesbian woman (I am a 50 y/o white male).  She was the better choice.  I work for her now and I have told her as much.  Not everyone who doesn't get the job is willing to admit that they're not the best candidate, it's human nature.

Meh, Nichols is venting privately about something she feels was done wrong to her, but BECAUSE she's white she gets cancelled. If it was the other way around, which HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, the narrative would've been different.

This really boils down to that minorities can complain when they feel someone of a different color unjustly took a job that they feel should've been theirs vs. white people who can't do as much... because PRIVILEGE.

I honestly don't see the controversy with what Nichols said at all, it's normal human nature. Political correctness and cancel culture are messed up.

[Kernewek]

it also sucks for the CHA announcer whose Nuggets tweet autocorrected to the n-word, and he got fired. People need to be super-careful about what they put out there (or might get out there).

Sidebar but worth pointing out: most autocorrect software currently in use incorporates learning behaviour, and has for the last decade or so.

Open up whatever texting software you use on your phone (or Twitter) and type Niggets (we can assume this is the misspelling that lead to the 'error'). On my devices, it autocorrects to Nuggets. Which makes sense, because the other word is not a word that I use.

Unless there's some special version of racist autocorrect that's being tested in the South (which, hey, anything is possible), the "oh no my autocorrect just happened to make this egregious mistake, I certainly don't use that word" excuse doesn't hold water.

Are you saying autocorrect is user specific or region specific? Whatever the case the autocorrect should be reproducible, right? Did an independent person verify that his phone autocorrected nigget to the N-word? By the way, my device autocorrected ‘nigget’ to nugget.

It's country-specific by default (e.g. favourite vs favorite) but the learning algos are user-specific 

The bit about the South was a hyperbolic possibility, sorry if it wasn't clear.

[Roy H.]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

And Taylor was a successful analyst, play by play person, and host at the SEC Network and then ESPN for several years.  They both had only been doing pregame shows for that 1 season though.  And NBA Countdown is actual set up as a pregame show, unlike the Jump which was more story based and not game preparation based.  Nichols had more ESPN and television experience, that doesn't make her better or even more qualified to host the Finals pregame.

Nichols has covered the NBA in various forms for 10+ years, on both ESPN and TNT.  Taylor did it for a couple months before getting the biggest assignment in NBA broadcasting.

[Moranis]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

And Taylor was a successful analyst, play by play person, and host at the SEC Network and then ESPN for several years.  They both had only been doing pregame shows for that 1 season though.  And NBA Countdown is actual set up as a pregame show, unlike the Jump which was more story based and not game preparation based.  Nichols had more ESPN and television experience, that doesn't make her better or even more qualified to host the Finals pregame.

Nichols has covered the NBA in various forms for 10+ years, on both ESPN and TNT.  Taylor did it for a couple months before getting the biggest assignment in NBA broadcasting.

hosting a news show and being a sideline reporter is not the same thing as hosting a pregame show.  They are different jobs that require different skill sets.  Nichols and Taylor both hosted a pregame show for 1 NBA season, and Taylor clearly was better at it, which is why ESPN gave her the Finals.  They were essentially competing head to head the whole season and Taylor won.  It isn't more difficult than that.

[SDceltGuy]

When race is factored into everything these days - it is inevitable that any time a minority gets a position there will be doubt it was earned solely on merit.  I enjoy the progressive wokesters eating their own - couldnt happen to a more deserving bunch including Nichols. 

[mobilija]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

 

I think that people are projecting their own narratives onto the situation.  ESPN viewed Taylor's credentials as better than Nichols, diversity may have played a role, but no one outside the actual decision making process knows that.  Nichols rejected Taylors professional qualifications and focused on Taylor's color, that was a mistake that potentially damaged Nichols reputation with ESPN management, but again no one outside ESPN management knows anything.  All we are doing is looking at the situation through our own biases.   

On a personal note I was a finalist for a management position that went a lesbian woman (I am a 50 y/o white male).  She was the better choice.  I work for her now and I have told her as much.  Not everyone who doesn't get the job is willing to admit that they're not the best candidate, it's human nature.

Meh, Nichols is venting privately about something she feels was done wrong to her, but BECAUSE she's white she gets cancelled. If it was the other way around, which HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, the narrative would've been different.

This really boils down to that minorities can complain when they feel someone of a different color unjustly took a job that they feel should've been theirs vs. white people who can't do as much... because PRIVILEGE.

I honestly don't see the controversy with what Nichols said at all, it's normal human nature. Political correctness and cancel culture are messed up.

Don't worry it only took minorities a couple hundred years of complaining to be heard. Be patient, maybe it won't take as long for white voices to be heard. And look on the bright side, at least whites are only getting "cancelled" an not whipped or killed.

[Celtics4ever]

I know it was wrong but I liked Nichols more because she was cute than her reporting chops.

[BudweiserCeltic]

You can never be woke enough.  The lesson:  stay silent and move aside while less qualified people take your job, or it may be the last time you work in the industry.  Value is judged by your race and/or the concentration of melanin in your skin.

Pretty much.

Can’t wait for Nichols to basically unload more dirt on ESPN. Should be fun.

Except Taylor wasn't less qualified.  Younger with less experience, but not less qualified.  In fact, I think the better argument is that Taylor was actually more qualified than Nichols given Taylor actually played the sport at a high level (SEC), has called basketball games on television, and served as a basketball analyst on television, in addition to actually hosting a NBA show at ESPN.  She wasn't just a younger prettier version of Nichols (who happened to also be black), she was an actual athlete, something Nichols was not (Taylor was an even higher level volleyball player, making the All SEC all 4 years she played in addition to representing the US on some Junior National teams).  I just don't buy this notion that Nichols deserved that particular hosting gig more than Taylor.  Experience does not always equal better and I think that is the case here.

Nichols started and hosted a successful NBA show on ESPN for five years.  Who cares that Taylor played college basketball?  That doesn’t give her any particular insight into the NBA Finals.  She’d had only a couple of months doing anything related to the NBA before being given the Finals gig.

 

I think that people are projecting their own narratives onto the situation.  ESPN viewed Taylor's credentials as better than Nichols, diversity may have played a role, but no one outside the actual decision making process knows that.  Nichols rejected Taylors professional qualifications and focused on Taylor's color, that was a mistake that potentially damaged Nichols reputation with ESPN management, but again no one outside ESPN management knows anything.  All we are doing is looking at the situation through our own biases.   

On a personal note I was a finalist for a management position that went a lesbian woman (I am a 50 y/o white male).  She was the better choice.  I work for her now and I have told her as much.  Not everyone who doesn't get the job is willing to admit that they're not the best candidate, it's human nature.

Meh, Nichols is venting privately about something she feels was done wrong to her, but BECAUSE she's white she gets cancelled. If it was the other way around, which HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, the narrative would've been different.

This really boils down to that minorities can complain when they feel someone of a different color unjustly took a job that they feel should've been theirs vs. white people who can't do as much... because PRIVILEGE.

I honestly don't see the controversy with what Nichols said at all, it's normal human nature. Political correctness and cancel culture are messed up.

Don't worry it only took minorities a couple hundred years of complaining to be heard. Be patient, maybe it won't take as long for white voices to be heard. And look on the bright side, at least whites are only getting "cancelled" an not whipped or killed.

Awesome