Former ESPN NBA Countdown Host Michelle Beadle believes Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James got her fired from the show because she criticized “decisions.”
In 2010, James became a free agent and decided to sign with several teams, including his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. James announced his decision during an hour-long segment on ESPN called “The Decision.”
James chose to join the Heat and won two NBA championships with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013. James’ decision to leave the Cavaliers is seen by many as the beginning of the superteam era, in which top NBA players decide to play for talented teams in pursuit of a championship rather than stick with their own teams. Other superteams at the time included the 2014-15 Los Angeles Clippers (featuring Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin), and the 2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder team (featuring Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant).
Beadle appeared on “The Bad Announcements Podcast” earlier this month, where she said that after she was fired from ESPN and replaced by Rachel Nichols, she started hearing rumors that she was James was fired because he was angry about the criticism.
“I didn’t find out until after (I was fired),” Beadle, now a broadcaster for the San Antonio Spurs, said on the podcast. “In the chaos that happened after I left, all this other information started to come out. As I was leaving, I caught wind of it. And then more stuff came out and I was like, ‘What a crap show.’ “
Biddle went on to say that the four-time NBA champion is a powerful figure throughout the league.
“Yeah, you know, he (James) is a strong guy,” Biddle said. “I mean, there’s no denying that he’s an empire and an entity in its own right. All respect to building such a strong entity and doing it well. So yes, people will listen.”
This isn’t the first time Bedell has blamed James for being fired. NBA Countdown. She made the same claim at the end of 2021. Bedell also added that Nichols may have been involved in her exit from the show.
“I mean, look, she’s not that powerful at the end of the day,” Biddle said of Nichols. “But I think some of the narrative was allowed to play out, especially in the New York Post at the time. I know where it came from. “We all know where it came from. “
Nichols hosted the show until 2021, when she was removed for making derogatory remarks about Maria Taylor in an audio clip after she was selected to host ESPN’s 2020 NBA Finals coverage.
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