Legendary reporter Jackie MacMullan announces retirement from ESPN

Legendary reporter Jackie MacMullan announced she will retire from ESPN at the end of the month. 

MacMullan has been a trailblazer for women in sports media and established herself as one of the most respected NBA reporters during her 40-year career.

"I feel fortunate to have collaborated with so many incredibly talented people during my 10-plus years at ESPN," MacMullan said in a statement. "Sometimes you just know when you're ready to dial it back, and this is the right time for me. I'm grateful for the memories, but especially for the friends I've made along the way. Thank you to my ESPN colleagues for all of your support."

MacMullan began her carer at the Boston Globe in 1982 and became the paper's first female sports columnist. She worked there for more than 20 years and was named associate editor in 2002.

The 60-year-old moved to ESPN in 2010, where she wrote for the company's website and also appeared on shows like "SportsCenter," "Around the Horn" and "The Jump."

MacMullan also became the first woman to receive the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. She received the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing in 2019 after writing books with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal, among others. 

MacMullan will officially be done with ESPN on Aug. 31. According to the Boston Globe's Chad Finn, she will continue to do podcasts for The Ringer.