Mike Golic Exploded On ESPN For Letting Rachel Nichols, Maria Taylor Controversy Get So Bad

Mike Golic thinks ESPN should be embarrassed with how its handled the entire situation with Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols.

Mike Golic, a former longtime employee for the Worldwide Leader, thinks ESPN leadership should’ve stepped in a long time ago before audio would get released of Nichols having a conversation with one of LeBron James’ top advisors.

“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world. She covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said on a call with LeBron James’ longtime advisor Adam Mendelsohn. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it, like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

Here’s how Golic thinks things should’ve been handled.

“Here’s my problem and it’s been my problem with a lot of things over time whether it’s at ESPN or anywhere else. It’s communication,” Golic said during an episode of StuPodity, via Barrett Media Sports. “Communicate more. You let this situation get bad…Somebody higher up at ESPN needs to get involved and say listen, you guys both work for this company, we’re all going to get in one room and we’re going to talk about this. The lack of face-to-face meetings with people to talk about anything, things that need to be talked about, to me is embarrassing.
“This had been a year old. Somebody in leadership needs to step in and say ok, that person’s texting and you aren’t responding to the texts. No, we are going to the same room. We are going to be in the same room and talk about it. I have said this from Day 1 and I learned this from my parents, especially from my father. You deal with people face-to-face, voice-to-voice during COVID. Even if it is the aftermath and you are trying to clean things up, get face-to-face, somehow, someway. One party wanted to, the other didn’t, and that’s fine, but that’s when leadership needs to take charge.”

Taylor’s contract with ESPN expires in less than two weeks, and has reportedly already turned down a $5 million a year deal.