Maria Taylor is leaving ESPN after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension. Taylor had been with ESPN since 2014 but her\u2026<\/b>
\nMaria Taylor is leaving ESPN after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension. Taylor had been with ESPN since 2014 but her contract expired Tuesday. Her last assignment for the network was Tuesday night at the NBA Finals, where she was the pregame and postgame host for the network\u2019s \u201cNBA Countdown\u201d show. \u201cSo thankful to Jimmy (Pitaro) and all of my great teammates and friends at the SEC Network, College GameDay, Women\u2019s and Men\u2019s college basketball, and the NBA Countdown family \u2014 the people who believed in me, encouraged me, pushed me, and lifted me up,\u201d Taylor said in a statement released through ESPN. \u201cWords are inadequate to express my boundless appreciation, and I hope to make them proud.\u201d Taylor had hosted \u201cNBA Countdown\u201d since 2019 as well as being a reporter for \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d and ABC \u201cSaturday Night Football\u201d since 2017. \u201cMaria\u2019s remarkable success speaks directly to her abilities and work ethic,\u201d ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. \u201cThere 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\u2019ve done together.\u201d ESPN had been discussing a contract with Taylor for over a year but things reached a boiling point over the past month. Taylor rejected an extension last year and the two sides were far apart heading into the NBA Finals. Then came a New York Times report detailing comments her colleague Rachel Nichols made about Taylor last year during the NBA\u2019s restart in Florida. Nichols, who is white, was announced in September 2019 as the NBA Finals host but the network later decided to promote Taylor, who is Black. Nichols said in an accidentally recorded phone call obtained by the Times: \u201cI wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world \u2014 she covers football, she covers basketball. If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity \u2014 which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it \u2014 like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.\u201d Nichols apologized on July 5 while hosting \u201cThe Jump.\u201d She was slated to be the sideline reporter for the Finals, but was pulled off the assignment. ___ More AP sports: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/apf-sports and https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP_Sports Copyright \u00a9 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.<\/p>\n