From one ESPN host to another: I’m sorry
Rachel Nichols apologized to ESPN colleague Maria Taylor on the air Monday after a leaked audio clip revealed Nichols, who is white, complaining about Taylor, who is Black, getting Nichols’ NBA Finals hosting gig last year for what she thought were ‘‘diversity’’ reasons.
‘‘So the first thing they teach you in journalism school is don’t be the story, and I don’t plan to break that rule today or distract from a fantastic Finals,’’ Nichols said to open ‘‘The Jump’’ on ESPN2. ‘‘But I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN; how deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor; and how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team.’’
Former NBA players Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins, Nichols’ co-stars on ‘‘The Jump,’’ expressed support for her.
Hawks keeping coach McMillan
General manager Travis Schlenk announced the Hawks had an agreement in place with coach Nate McMillan to remove the ‘‘interim’’ label from his title and keep him with the franchise going forward. Sources told ESPN the deal is for four seasons.
McMillan took over for fired Lloyd Pierce when the Hawks were 14-20 in early March. He led them to a 27-11 record for the rest of the regular season, then guided them to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to the Bucks in six games.
Jags QB Lawrence signs deal
Jaguars quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence signed his four-year rookie contract, clearing the way for him to attend the start of training camp in three weeks.
Under the NFL’s rookie slotting system, Lawrence’s deal was projected to be worth $36.8 million and to include a $24.1 million signing bonus.
Gauff out at Wimbledon
Rising U.S. star Coco Gauff, 17, fell to 2018 champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Among other fourth-round winners were top-seeded Novak Djokovic, sixth-seeded Roger Federer and seventh-seeded Matteo Berrettini on the men’s side and top-seeded Ash Barty, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova on the women’s side.
MLS honors Fire’s Aliseda
Fire forward Ignacio Aliseda was voted the Major League Soccer player of the week after scoring two goals and assisting on a third in the team’s 3-0 victory Saturday against Atlanta United at Soldier Field.
Sun-Times wires