Rachel Nichols (journalist)


Rachel Michele Nichols is a sports journalist who is currently a television host for ESPN, a sports reporter, and an anchor. She hosts an NBA discussion show called The Jump; weekdays on ESPN, it covers news and stories from around the league and features a panel of NBA analysts and players.

Early life

Nichols was born Rachel Michele Alexander. She is a 1991 graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland and graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1995.

Career

Nichols began her career as a sports journalist in the 1990s, first writing for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel sports page before covering the NHL's Washington Capitals for the Washington Post. She joined ESPN in 2004, where she became a regular part of SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown, as well as a regular on the network's NFL and NBA coverage. Nichols was also a correspondent for and worked as the sideline reporter on a number of Monday Night Football broadcasts.
In 2013, she left ESPN for CNN and began hosting Unguarded with Rachel Nichols in October of that year. The program would change from a regular series to an occasional special by October of the subsequent year. Sports Illustrated has called Nichols "the country's most impactful and prominent female sports journalist." Nichols was widely praised for her tough questioning of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal and likewise for confronting boxer Floyd Mayweather on his history of domestic violence. During this same period, Nichols also worked the sidelines for Turner Sports' NBA on TNT program from 2013–2016, working both regular season and playoff games.
Since her return to ESPN in 2016, she has co-hosted The Jump, a daily discussion show she created covering the NBA. She also became a recurring guest-host on the podcast Pardon My Take, as well as on the TV show Pardon the Interruption.

Accolades

She has been named one of Esquire's "Women We Love" and one of The Hollywood Reporters "10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports Media". She was also named to Sports Illustrateds "Twitter 100" in 2013 and 2014 and to Sports Illustrated "MMQB 100".

Personal life

Nichols married film and music video director Max Nichols, son of film and stage director Mike Nichols, in a Jewish ceremony in Venice in 2001. Together, they have two children, twin daughters. She also has one older brother and one younger brother.