ESPN host Rachel Nichols secretly recorded in hotel room by another reporter

ESPN said it was “extremely disappointed” after one of it hosts, Rachel Nichols, was secretly recorded inside her hotel room in an apparent bid to sabotage her career and “expose” her as a “back-stabber.”

An anonymous party earlier this week sent a Deadspin reporter four videos, all of which appear to be from a cell phone recording of “The Jump Host” in a private conversation with another reporter.

Nichols is not seen in the clips, which appear to be recorded at her hotel room in the Disney campus in Orlando.

The chat overall lasted around 30 minutes, but Deadspin received only four minutes of edited footage. Because they were only sent one side of the exchange, the media outlet has declined to provide specifics about the call — only that it was regarding Nichols’ career and ESPN’s handling of its NBA Finals coverage.

“Nothing in the videos Deadspin viewed show Nichols saying anything that could be construed as either a back-stabber or phony ally,” Deadspin wrote.

“Historically, casting successful women as conniving backstabbers has been a tried and true method of encouraging public condemnation of them.”

In a statement to Sports Illustrated on Wednesday, ESPN condemned the recording as an intrusion and defended its staff’s coverage.

“We are extremely disappointed about the leak of a private conversation. It’s indefensible and an intrusion on Rachel’s privacy,” ESPN said in a statement.

“As for the substance of the conversation, it is not reflective of our decision-making on staffing assignments for the NBA, which has largely been driven by the circumstances of the pandemic.”

The NBA season is scheduled to resume at the end of the month, and Nichols, a major contributor for the network’s basketball programming, is among the selected media members already in the league’s “bubble” in Florida.