Pacers HC vouches for embattled ESPN broadcaster before NBA Finals

A recent report from The Athletic suggested that ESPN's top broadcast team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson may not last past this year's NBA Finals. Breen is on a long-term deal, but Jefferson's contract expires soon and Burke is reportedly "not guaranteed" a spot with the top team.

Carlisle thinks she should keep her job, and felt so strongly about it that he opened his NBA Finals press conference stumping for the embattled analyst.

"She has changed the game for women in broadcasting," Carlisle began, "Doris is a great example of courage and putting herself out there. It was just so sad to see these reports leaked, really unnecessarily before such a celebrated event."

He went on to suggest that Burke was so knowledgeable, he'd repeatedly suggested she get into coaching basketball, then listed a number of other female broadcasters for whom Burke had "paved the way."

Burke's presence on ESPN's top team has been polarizing, but she's been put in a difficult situation. The network laid off both of Breen's longtime broadcast partners, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, after the 2023 Finals. 

The three-person team was Breen, Burke and Doc Rivers, who left midseason to coach the Milwaukee Bucks. After ESPN elevated J.J. Redick to the top team, he left to coach the Los Angeles Lakers after the season.

It's hard not to see sexism in the overt criticism of Burke, especially following Van Gundy and Jackson, who seemed to spend as much time squabbling with each other than describing the action of the games. With Amazon and NBC both broadcasting games starting next season, there's a lot of chaos coming to NBA telecasts. Carlisle is right that Burke doesn't deserve to be a part of that chaos.