Rachel Nichols is one of the more polarizing broadcasters in all of sports. For a long time fans loved her and the enthusiasm she brought to the table. Slowly, however, that began to shift. Maybe as a result of overexposure or just changing times, her routine began to annoy folks.
Then last year, Nichols found herself in the midst of an unfortunate racial scandal that upended her time at ESPN. Obviously that entire brouhaha didn’t endear her to fans either.
This week, Nichols went viral when an old video of her seemingly flirting with Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker during last year’s playoffs resurfaced.
The clip largely speaks for itself:
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“Devin, Suns fans think you look great… I know your girl thinks you look just fine. So really, I don’t think you have anything to worry about in that department,” she said.
Obviously Booker’s relationship with Kendall Jenner is a matter of public record and Nichols was clearly alluding to that, but the general awkwardness of the exchange still raised a few eyebrows. It also led to more references of the sordid rumor that emerged late last year regarding her and Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
Nichols’ run at ESPN is over, but she’ll no doubt bounce back strong somewhere else. She simply has too much name recognition and has too many positive relationships in the NBA as a whole. You will recall, the first thing Giannis Antetokounmpo did after winning a championship last year was give her a gift. That’s telling.
Paige VanZant says the photos left her “looking like a hoe.”https://t.co/0tjKXTTXAb
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 16, 2021
Nichols will end up on TV again sooner rather than later. Where precisely will that be, though? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
