Five racist cases Maria Taylor has faced

Mary Taylor is a talented woman of color, making her way as a sports reporter in America’s most racist and male-dominated fields. She worked for ESPN for almost 7 years before leaving the company in 2021 and joining NBC Sports. Why do you ask that? It’s all because of racism.

“Racism” is not a new term for America. Nearly every African-American person in the country has experienced racism at some point. In fact, some have even died from it; hate crimes related to racism are also very high in the nation. Whites also often have the privilege of getting away with this, which should be considered a serious crime. However, it is inevitable. No matter how strongly we raise our voices, racism is something that will never go away.

Therefore, this article focuses on the 5 racist cases that Maria Taylor has faced. Some of the things she has experienced as a black woman/sports reporter are not acceptable at all. So what are they? Let’s figure it out.

1. Maria Taylor’s colleague suggested she got the job because she’s “black.”

New York Times, released a story on July 4, 2021 explaining how Taylor Maria was suggested to have gotten her job because of her skin color. This absurd statement was made by none other than her own colleague, Rachel Nicholes. She doubted the true merits of Maria, who is an extremely talented commentator. This shocked the entire ESPN network.

The statement was made by Nicholes during a video call with LeBron James’ adviser in July 2020. She was unaware that the call was taped and made the following statement:

“If you need to give her more things to do because you’re under pressure because of your lousy long track record on diversity – which I know personally from the female side of it, by the way – then go for it. Just find it somewhere else,”

The host of The jump suggested that ESPN only hired Taylor because they were pressured to have a more diversified office. They released Rachel, who also later publicly apologized for her behavior.

However, apologizing wasn’t enough. Despite the network’s raise in Taylor’s salary, she quit her job after 7 years and went to work at NBC Sports.

2. She was blamed for being unprofessional after she refused to work with Nicholes

Recently, MSNBC released a video asking Maria to talk about the whole incident with Rachel Nicholes. In the short clip, along with the unfortunate incident, Taylor talks about how she was accused of being “unprofessional” after she left ESPN.

It turned out that it was her own business that embalmed her. They suggested that she was overreacting to the whole situation and being unprofessional for refusing to work with Nicholes. That woman questioned her morals by making a racist remark, but instead Taylor was to blame. The irony!

Joy Reid, along with other women of color featured in that video from The culture is black women showed their support for this sportscaster.

3. She was criticized by a radio host about the clothes she wears

One form of racism that most women of color face is sexism. So-called “white” women who wear slightly revealing clothes are less criticized compared to an African-American woman who wears the exact same clothes. This is exactly what happened to Maria Taylor in September 2020.

Taylor was heavily criticized by Chicago radio host Dan McNeil. According to him, she wore clothes that were more “fit for an adult movie”. He made this comment about the outfit she wore while working the sidelines for a Monday Night Football Game.

Further, this TV presenter did not remain silent. She fought back at McNeil. However, this backfired as she soon received a hateful message from a fan.

4. Maria Taylor’s family also received a racist message

Just a year before the Nicholes incident, in October 2020, Maria Taylor took to Twitter to share a hate-filled message her family had received. The message contained very foul language and also described this TV presenter as “trash affirmative action hire” And many other things. Reportedly, the lyrics came from a college football “fan”.

What happened was totally unacceptable. Taylor was very angry at what was in store for her parents and brother. She tweeted,

“So to be clear, texting my dad, mom and brother, this hate does NOT scare me and it won’t stop me from doing my job.”

Regardless of the racism and hate, Maria Taylor is indeed a brave woman.

5. In addition to her peers, Taylor has also faced racism from the players

2021, Kirk Herb Street published a book, Out of the bag: football, fatherhood, and college game day on Saturday. It is his autobiography, in which Taylor is surprisingly mentioned briefly.

According to the book, Taylor experienced player racism while working in sportscasting for college football. Herbstreit was aware of the powerful conversation the host had with many football players. He was even asked to watch the videos before they aired, but admitted to not doing so.