Report: ESPN employee tried to leak Rachel Nichols' private phone conversation

A private phone conversation ESPN host Rachel Nichols had was recorded by a fellow ESPN employee and then leaked to a media outlet, according to a report.

Deadspin published a story on Wednesday in which they said they received four video clips on Tuesday night that appeared to be recorded on a cell phone. The videos were of a video feed that came from a camera Nichols has in her room inside the NBA Bubble in Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Apparently Nichols did not turn off her camera and ESPN did not shut off her feed, which allowed someone to eavesdrop on a 30-minute private phone conversation she subsequently had on the phone.

The four edited video clips were sent to Deadspin apparently in an effort to make Nichols look bad. The call reportedly discussed personnel matters at ESPN.

Recording a phone conversation in both Connecticut and Florida requires the consent from both parties, which appears to make this recording illegal, since Nichols did not consent to it.

“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, via Deadspin. “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.”

Nichols has been with ESPN since 2016 and hosts “The Jump”, a daily NBA talk show. She became a host of “NBA Countdown” last year.