Rachel Nichols recently recounted an upsetting incident involving an executive at a previous job.
Best known for her time at ESPN, Nichols discussed the encounter during an appearance on ‘South Beach Sessions’ with Dan Le Batard. She described a conversation she had with a higher-up while she was pregnant.
She mentioned, “When I was pregnant, I waited so long to tell them. I waited so long because I knew that this was not going to be good for me professionally.” More so here. “I was married for ten years before I decided to have kids, and a big part of that consideration was, ‘Do I want a little human in my life?’ but also ‘How is this going to affect the thing that I’ve scrapped for, that I’ve worked for so hard?’”
Nichols avoided sharing her pregnancy for a while because she had a hunch that it wouldn’t be well received by her employers at the time.
The executive, unnamed by Nichols, immediately expressed skepticism about her future at the company when she revealed her pregnancy.
Recalling the encounter, she added:
“I had the executive look at me and say, ‘This is great, congratulations, I’m so happy for you, it’s been so nice working with you.’”
She also said that she was told that she wouldn’t be able to perform her job well if she had a child, as it would disrupt her schedule.
Following her departure from ESPN, Nichols has secured multiple roles, including on FS1’s repackaged ‘Undisputed.” Although she didn’t disclose the executive’s identity or the company, many speculate this incident occurred during her time at The Worldwide Leader in Sports.
