Landon Buford
Rachel Nichols is one of the most recognizable faces on television. She is a sports journalist who is currently a sports reporter, anchor, and the host of ESPN’s daily show “The Jump,” which is an NBA discussion and debate program.
In 1995, Nichols would graduate with her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Upon obtaining her degree, she would accept a job with the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel where worked for a year before moving on to the Washington Post.
She would accept a position with the Post where she covered the Washington Capitals of the NHL in 1996. Nichols would spend eight years reporting for the Washington Post before moving on to ESPN in 2004. During her time at ESPN, she was a regular contributor to SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown. She was also featured on the network’s coverage of the NFL and NBA. Reporting breaking news and interviewing high-profile athletes until she departed for CNN in 2013.
Nichols would join the CNN as a studio analyst and also the host of Unguarded with Rachel Nichols. Part of her duties at CNN were to cover the networks’ NBA and NCAA Tournament broadcasts, as a sideline reporter. She has been widely known as a reporter that will ask the tough questions for example, during the Ray Rice Scandal. She didn’t hold back any punches when she asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell if he was willing to give up some of his power when it came to disciplining players to make sure the correct punishment was enforced.
Goodell answered with ‘Everything is on the table.’ Nichols also confronted boxer Floyd Mayweather about the allegations of domestic violence charges against him. Mayweather would deny the allegations and would ban Nicholes and ESPN and HBO’s Michelle Beadle media credentials to his fight against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather’s camp would eventually change their minds about denying her credentials she chose not to attend the flight and Beadle decide to go home.
Nichols would return to ESPN in 2016, based in Los Angeles studios as the Host of the Jump alongside current and former NBA players, ESPN analysts, reporters, and insiders. One of the individuals who make recurring appearances on the program is former Assistant Director of Basketball Operations with the Phoenix Suns and current NBA Analyst Amin Elhassan.
Elhassan was recently in Dallas to watch the Mavericks and rookie sensation Luka Doncic take on Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Before the game, Elhassan was taking interviews from members of the local media.
Elhassan was asked what it was like to work with Rachel Nichols and here was his response “It is like playing with LeBron It’s so easy,“ Elhassan told me.
“ The best way I can put it the commissioner of the NBA knows him I am because of Rachel Nichols. I could be on ESPN or a daily NBA show and all that stuff, who by the way I’m on that show because of Rachel. She is the one that said I want Amin to be on the show a lot.“
He would continue:
“I owe her a lot in terms of my career and where it has gone through that and the creditability that she brings to that program there so many league personnel, teams, players, and coaches. People mainly watch that show because of Rachel and then they get int犀利士
roduced to people like me, and I’m thankful for that.“
